STORIES  OF 

Great  National  Songs 


BY 

COLONEL  NICHOLAS  SMITH 

Author    of  Our  Nation's   Flag,  Masters  of  Old  Age,  Hymns 
Historically  Famous,  etc. 


"I  knew  a  very  wise  man,  so  much  of  Sir  Christopher's 
sentiment,  that  he  believed  if  a  man  were  permitted  to 
make  all  the  ballads,  he  need  not  care  who  should  make 
the  laws  of  a  nation." 

— Andrew  Fletcher,  of  Salton. 


THIRD  EDITION 


MILWAUKEE,  WIS.: 

THE  YOUNG  CHURCHMAN   CO 


COPYBIGHT  BY 
NICHOLAS  SMITH 

1899 


To 

The  Wife  of  My  Youth 

Whose  Devotion  and  Encouragement 

Have  Been  a  Constant  Benediction, 

This  Volume  is 
Lovingly  Dedicated. 


376074 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 


THE  AUTHOB  takes  pleasure  in  expressing  Ms  indebted- 
ness to  the  John  Church  Company  of  Cincinnati,  for 
the  use  of  the  excellent  portrait  of  Dr.  George  F.  Root, 
and  the  words  of  two  of  his  war  songs ;  to  that  compre- 
hensive and  valuable  work,  "Our  War  Songs,  North  and 
South,"  published  by  S.  Brainard's  Sons,  Cleveland,  for  the 
words  of  several  songs  and  the  portrait  of  Charles  C. 
Sawyer;  to  Champlin's  monumental  "Cyclopedia  of  Music 
and  Musicians,"  published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  for 
the  portrait  of  Rouget  de  Lisle;  to  J.  F.  Kreh  of  Frederick, 
Md.,  for  the  beautiful  illustration  of  Key's  monument;  and 
to  Admiral  Preble's  "The  Flags  of  the  United  States,"  pub- 
lished by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  for  the  illustration  in 
which  Judge  Hopkinson's  portrait  appears. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  POWER  OF  SONG 9 

THE  FIBST  AMERICAN  NATIONAL  AIR — "YANKEE 

DOODLE." 23 

BILLINGS — THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  WAR  SONG  WRITER.  33 
THE  FIRST  ORIGINAL  AMERICAN  SONG  —  "HAIL 

COLUMBIA." 39 

"THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER." 44 

MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE 56 

COLUMBIA,  THE  GEM  OF  THE  OCEAN 72 

THE  FATHERLESS  SONG  OF  JOHN  BROWN'S  BODY.  .  .  77 

GEORGE  F.  ROOT  AND  His  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM.  .  93 

THE  BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 108 

WE  ABE  COMING,  FATHER  ABRAHAM. 121 

A  TRIO  OF  GOOD  WAR  SONGS 127 

MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA 136 

OLD  SHADY — THE  FAMOUS  SINGING  COOK 149 

TENTING  ON  THE  OLD  CAMP  GROUND 153 

SONGS  OF  CHEER  AND  PATHOS 157 

HOME,  SWEET  HOME 164 

SONGS  OF  THE  SOUTH — DIXIE 178 

MARYLAND,  MY  MARYLAND.  . 193 

THE  BONNIE  BLUE  FLAG 201 

GREAT  BRITAIN'S  NATIONAL  ANTHEM 207 

THE  MARSEILLAISE 217 

BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY.  227 


GENERAL  INDEX   .  235 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

THE  AUTHOB FRONTISPIECE 

ALEXANDEB  C.  Ross 17 

YANKEE  DOODLE 23 

JOSEPH    HOPKINSON 39 

FBANCIS  SCOTT  KEY 44 

THE  KEY  MONUMENT. 51 

SAMUEL  F.  SMITH 56 

JOHN  BBOWN 77 

GEOBGE  F.  ROOT 93 

JULES  LUMBABD 106 

JULIA  WABD  HOWE 108 

HENBY  C.  WOBK 136 

OLD    SHADY 149 

WALTEB  KITTBEDGE 153 

CHABLES  CABBOLL  SAWYEB 159 

JOHN  HOWABD  PAYNE 164 

DANIEL  D.  EMMETT 178 

JAMES  R.  RANDALL 193 

HENBY   CABEY 207 

ROUGET  DE  LISLE 217 

MAX  SCHNECKENBUBGEB.  226 


STORIES  OF 

GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS 


CHAPTEE  I. 

ILLUSTRATIONS   OF   THE   POWER   OF   SONG. 

|  WO  hundred  years  ago,  Andrew 
Fletcher,  of  Salton,  the  noted  Scottish 
patriot,  said:  "I  knew  a  very  wise 
man,  so  much  of  Sir  Christopher's 
sentiment,  that  he  believed  if  a  man  were  per- 
mittetd  to  make  all  the  ballads,  he  need  not 
care  who  should  make  the  laws  of  a  nation."  A 
writer  of  unknown  name,  in  commenting  on  this 
famous,  but  usually  misquoted  saying,  suggests 
that  the  wise  man  did  not  mean  to  disparage 
statesmanship,  but  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
songs  accepted  by  the  people  as  expressions  of  na- 
tional sentiment  have  a  far  greater  influence  than 
the  statutes  enacted  to  carry  out  given  political 
doctrines  and  purposes. 


•  •  '   •  '*  .  :  '  * 

10     STORIED  OF  GREAT  RATIONAL  SONGS. 


It  is  easy  to  trace  through  the  history  of  civili- 
ation  the  subtle  force  of  popular  melodies  repre- 
senting thoughts  and  emotions  that  have  prevailed 
from  time  to  time,  and  helped  to  shape  the  course 
of  events.  There  seems  to  be  something  in  human 
nature  which  demands  a  musical  outlet  for  certain 
forms  of  patriotic  and  religious  feeling.  "And  all 
countries  have  their  favorite  and  characteristic 
songs,  corresponding  to  the  temperament  and  ten- 
dency of  their  respective  peoples.  There  has 
never  been  a  country  on  earth  so  poor  that  it  did 
not  have  at  least  one  simple  ballad,  dear  to  the 
common  heart,  and  serving  as  a  source  of  inspira- 
tion in  time  of  peril." 

There  is  no  higher  human  power  than  music. 
It  will  move  men's  souls  when  the  mightiest  of 
orators  fail.  A  few  years  ago  some  one  watched 
the  most  noted  infidel  in  the  world,  Colonel  Kobert 
G.  Ingersoll,  as  he  listened  to  that  great  master, 
Remenyi,  drawing  his  wondrous  bow  upon  his  vio- 
lin. Those  marvellous  strains  soon  touched  the 
over-flowing  heart  of  the  famous  agnostic,  and  as 
the  big  tears  fell  "from  the  eye  that  had  so  often 
flashed  with  scorn,"  everybody  present  felt  as 
never  before,  the  striking  wonder  of  the  pathos, 
beauty  and  power  of  music.  There  is  something 
like  a  divine  influence  in  music,  and  that  explains 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  POWER  OF  SONG.       11 

why  birds  of  prey  never  sing,  and  infidelity  has 
no  song. 

Mr.  Henry  T.  Finck,  in  an  article  on  "The 
Utility  of  Music,"  printed  in  a  recent  number  of 
The  Forum,  speaks  about  music  superseding  the 
chime  bells  in  calling  people  to  worship.  In  some 
parts  of  Germany,  especially  at  Stuttgart,  they 
have  a  more  delightful  and  effective  way  of  draw- 
ing people  to  church  than  by  the  clanking  of  the 
bells.  Three  or  four  trombone-players  enter  the 
church  tower  a  short  time  before  the  hour  of  ser- 
vice and  play  a  solemn  choral  so  sweetly  that  the 
charm  and  purifying  joy  in  the  majestic  harmo- 
nies wafting  in  the  air,  are  not  wasted  on  dull 
ears,  but  impress  passers-by  with  the  fact  that 
Sunday  is  not  as  a  sponge  with  which  to  wipe  out 
the  follies  of  the  week,  but  a  day  of  worship,  and 
many  hundreds  are  drawn  to  the  service  who 
would  otherwise  pass  by  the  church  door. 

Music  has  had  more  to  do  in  soothing  the 
stormy  and  bitter  passions  of  mankind,  in  elevat- 
ing their  thoughts,  in  exciting  their  sympathies, 
than  any  other  agency  of  man's  invention;  and 
how  many  times  "the  contrary  stream  of  thought, 
and  opinion,  and  feeling,  and  impulse,  have  been 
united  by  song  in  an  ocean  of  good  will  and  mutual 
helpfulness." 


12     8TOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  greatest  intellects  are  those  that  can  inter- 
pret and  reveal  man's  own  soul;  and  herein  lies 
the  power  of  the  world's  great  poets  and  musicians. 
An  incident  which  illustrates  how  quickly  the 
human  heart  responds  to  genuine  soul  song,  is  a 
touching  scene  in  the  life  of  Jenny  Lind.  The 
sweet  singer  of  Sweden,  whose  smile,  as  well  as 
voice,  was  the  most  heavenly  ever  given  to  woman, 
was,  at  the  height  of  her  renown,  singing  in  Lon- 
don. Giulia  Grisi,  Italy's  "singing  flower  of 
beauty,"  was  also  in  London  winning  much  popu- 
lar applause.  Both  were  invited  to  sing  the  same 
night  at  a  court  concert  before  the  Queen.  Jenny 
Lind  being  the  younger,  sang  first,  and  was  so  dis- 
turbed by  the  fierce,  scornful  look  of  Grisi,  that  she 
was  at  the  point  of  failure,  when  suddenly  an  in- 
spiration came  to  her.  The  accompanist  was  strik- 
ing his  final  chords.  She  asked  him  to  rise,  and 
taking  the  vacant  seat,  her  fingers  wandered 
over  the  keys  in  a  loving  prelude,  and  then  she 
sang  a  little  prayer  which  she  had  loved  as  a  child. 
She  had  not  sung  it  for  years.  As  she  sang  she 
was  no  longer  in  the  presence  of  royalty,  but  sing- 
ing to  loving  friends  in  her  fatherland. 

Softly  at  first  the  plaintive  notes  floated  on  the 
air,  swelling  louder  and  richer  every  moment. 
The  singer  seemed  to  throw  her  whole  soul  into 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  POWEB  OF  SONG.       13 

that  weird,  thrilling,  plaintive  "prayer."  Gradu- 
ally the  song  died  away  and  ended  in  a  sob.  There 
was  silence — the  silence  of  admiring  wonder.  The 
audience  sat  spellbound.  Jenny  Lind  lifted  her 
sweet  eyes  to  look  into  the  scornful  face  that  had 
so  disconcerted  her.  There  was  no  fierce  expres- 
sion now;  instead,  a  teardrop  glistened  on  the 
long,  black  lashes,  and  after  a  moment,  with  the 
impulsiveness  of  a  child  of  the  tropics,  Grisi 
crossed  to  Jenny  Lind's  side,  placed  her  arm  about 
her  and  kissed  her,  utterly  regardless  of  the 
audience. 

By  the  power  and  influence  of  their  songs  men 
and  women  have  made  possible  the  mightiest 
evangelistic  movements  of  the  centuries.  They 
have  revolutionized  parties,  and  have  changed  the 
history  of  nations.  The  importance  of  songs  and 
ballads  in  effecting  great  changes  in  national  life, 
whether  reformatory,  revolutionary,  or  religious, 
is  shown  in  the  history  of  almost  every  country  on 
the  globe. 

Sir  George  Grove,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Music, 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  Italian  song, 
"Daghela  avanti  un  Passo,"  which  means,  "Move  a 
step  forward."  It  is  a  striking  exemplification  of 
the  tremendous  power  of  popular  song.  In  1858 
Milan  was  a  hotbed  of  Italian  conspiracy  and  in- 


14:  STORIES  OF  GBEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

trigue  against  the  Austrian  rule  in  Lombardy.  At 
the  Teatro  della  Cannobiana  a  ballet  dancer  was 
received  by  the  spectators  with  mingled  applause 
and  hisses.  This  gave  rise  to  disorder ;  the  police 
interfered  and  took  the  part  of  the  majority,  who 
were  averse  to  the  dancer.  At  once  the  popular 
sympathies  were  enlisted  in  her  favor,  and  her 
cause  was  henceforth  identified  with  patriotic 
aspirations. 

Further  disturbances  followed  and  the  run  of 
the  ballet  was  stopped,  but  the  tune  to  which  the 
ballet  girl  danced  her  passo,  a  solo,  passed  into  the 
streets  of  Milan  and  was  heard  everywhere.  The 
words,  partly  Italian,  partly  Milanese,  were  a 
hybrid  melange  of  love  and  war,  with  the  refrain, 
"Daghela  avanti  un  passo."  This  was  received 
by  the  public  as  an  exhortation  to  patrotic  action, 
while  by  the  Austrians  both  tune  and  words  were 
deemed  an  insolent  challenge  and  were  not  for- 
gotten a  few  months  later  when  war  was  declared 
between  Austria  and  the  Kingdom  of  Piedmont. 
"Daghela  avanti"  was  then  played  in  derision  by 
the  Austrian  military  bands  as  they  advanced  into 
Piedmont,  just  as  "Yankee  Doodle"  was  played 
by  the  British  bands  in  ridicule  of  the  American 
colonists  during  the  French  and  Indian  war  pre- 
vious to  the  Revolution.  But  Austria  was  soon 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  POWER  OF  SONG.       15 

obliged  to  evacuate  Piedmont,  and  her  retreating 
armies  heard  the  same  strains  sung  by  the  advanc- 
ing soldiers  of  Italy.  Province  after  province  was 
annexed  to  Piedmont,  and  with  each  successive 
annexation  the  popularity  of  this  strange  song  in- 
creased until  it  was  heard  all  over  Italy. 

Probably  no  other  song,  not  patriotic  or  relig- 
ious, ever  had  a  more  marvellous  career  than 
Thomas  Hood's  "Song  of  the  Shirt,"  written  in 
1843.  In  its  power  to  touch  the  emotions  and 
arouse  men  to  action,  it  counted  for  more  than  all 
else  Hood  ever  wrote.  It  not  only  "ran  through 
the  land  like  wildfire,"  but  in  the  great  strikes  that 
seemed  to  shake  England  to  her  center,  it  had  an 
incomparable  controlling  influence.  It  became  so 
popular  that  it  was  translated  into  German, 
French  and  Italian.  It  was  printed  on  cotton 
handkerchiefs  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  and 
was  parodied  times  without  number.  That  which 
touched  Tom  Hood  most  deeply,  because  he  never 
thought  the  song  was  very  remarkable,  was  that 
the  poor  men  and  women  and  boys  and  girls,  whose 
sorrows  and  sufferings  were  many,  seemed  the  hap- 
pier when  going  about  the  street  singing  the  "Song 
of  the  Shirt"  to  a  rude  melody  of  their  own  com- 
position. 

It  is  said  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  put- 


16     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

ting  together  the  history  of  England  in  its  boldest 
outlines  from  the  songs  inspired  by  the  great  crises 
through  which  the  nation  has  passed.  The  songs 
of  the  civil  war  of  that  country  were  a  series  of 
political  ballads  which,  for  personality  and  power, 
still  remain  unrivalled.  It  was  a  war  whose 
fierceness  was  as  much  due  to  song  as  to  the  sword ; 
and  history  tells  us  that  song,  perhaps  more  than 
any  other  outside  influence,  brought  the  head  of 
Charles  L  to  the  block.  We  are  told  that  "the 
musicians  who  led  Napoleon's  old  guard  to  doom 
and  destruction  on  the  last  day  at  Waterloo,  will 
possibly  have  to  answer  for  more  reckless  murders 
when  the  record  of  bloody  deeds  are  read  beyond 
the  stars,  than  any  of  the  generals  who  exchanged 
the  compliments  of  the  season  on  that  historic  occa- 
sion, for  it  is  said  somewhere  in  history  that  when 
the  greatest  general  the  world  ever  saw  gave  up 
in  doubt  and  discouragement  on  that  day,  the 
'band  played  on.' '  Men  eagerly  marched  to  the 
field  of  slaughter  by  the  impelling  strains  of  the 
"Marseillaise." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable 
events  ever  known  in  the  history  of  our  government 
showing  the  power  of  a  simple  song,  was  the  great 
political  storm  which  swept  over  this  country  in 
1840.  In  that  year  there  lived  at  Zanesville,  Ohio, 


.  .  .        :  • 

•  '  '    * 

*          • 


ALEXANDER   C.   ROSS, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  FAMOUS  "T1PPECANOE   AXD  TVLER  TOO 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF   THE  POWER   OF  SONG.        17 

a  young  business  man,  Alex.  C.  Ross  by  name,  who 
was  fuller  of  Whig  enthusiasm  than  of  fine 
poetry;  and  one  Sunday  morning,  very  early  in 
the  famous  campaign,  while  sitting  in  the  church 
choir,  Mr.  Ross'  feelings  found  expression  in  those 
easy-going  and  catchy  words,  "Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  Too,"  adapted  to  the  tune  of  "Little  Pigs ;" 
and  in  a  month  the  song  seemed  to  have  traversed 
the  Union.  Steady-going  merchants,  sober-minded 
business  men,  lawyers  and  doctors,  and  statesmen 
and  ministers,  joined  with  wonderful  enthusiasm 
in  the  log-cabin  and  hard-cider  music ;  and  it  is  a 
bold  fact  that  in  that  campaign  a  president  of  the 
United  States  was  sung  into  the  White  House  by 
the  chorus  of  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  Too;"  the 
song  exerting  an  influence  entirely  beyond  the 
reach  of  speeches  and  newspapers. 

Song  writers  are  political,  social,  religious 
reformers.  They  have  stirred  mankind  profoundly 
by  the  sweeping,  conquering  inspiration  of  their 
songs,  ballads  and  hymns.  These  products  of  the 
heart — a  source  whence  come  all  great  songs — are 
so  universal  in  their  use,  and  have  such  mysterious 
power,  that  some  one  has  said  that  "not  until  we 
know  why  the  rose  is  red,  the  dewdrop  pure,  and 
the  rainbow  beautiful,  can  we  know  why  the  song- 
poet  is  the  best  benefactor  of  humanity."  Frances 


18      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

E.  Willard  has  told  us  that  no  names  are  deathless 
save  those  of  the  world's  singers;  and  whoever 
weds  perfect  music  to  noblest  words  soothes  the 
world's  heart  as  no  other  can.  And  it  is  one  of  the 
impressive  facts  of  history  that  they  who  make  the 
songs  of  the  church  wield  a  vaster  power  than  they 
who  build  her  creeds. 

A  correspondent  of  the  "Musical  Age,"  writ- 
ing from  Porto  Rico  early  in  the  autumn  of  1898, 


"You  will  never  be  able  to  appreciate  what  a 
godsend  to  the  human  race  the  banjo  is  until  you 
come  down  here,  and,  strolling  out  of  an  evening, 
hear  the  hundreds  of  them  being  played  in  the 
camp.  You  cannot  conceive  what  a  blessing  this 
little  half-musical  instrument  is  to  the  soldiers. 
The  day  is  full  of  activity  for  them,  but  in  the 
evening  there  is  nothing  to  do,  and  in  the  half-way 
tide  of  friendship  there  is  little  pleasure  in  con- 
versation. But  when  five  hundred  banjos  play 
'Home,  Sweet  Home/  all  together,  the  croaking  of 
the  frogs  sounding  dreamily  and  comfortably 
through  the  interludes,  you  begin  to  feel  very  emo- 
tional, and  to  appreciate  that  emotion  is  a  fine 
thing  now  and  then,  and  that  the  banjo  is  a  very 
much  misunderstood  instrument." 

In  the  realm  of  war  songs  we  find  the  be- 


ILLUSTKATIONS  OF  THE  POWEK  OF  SONG.       19 

ginning  of  the  poetry  of  every  nation.  There 
is  almost  supreme  wonderment  in  the  battle  hymn 
when  studied  as  to  its  influence  in  early  times 
on  history.  Among  our  northern  ancestry  the 
highest  salvation  was  reserved  for  him  who  died 
by  the  sword ;  and  the  fire  which  caused  the  blaze 
— the  burning  life  of  those  terrible  conquests, 
whose  war-flames  lighted  all  Europe,  was  the 
thrilling  power  of  war  songs.  Those  lyrics  were 
the  outburst  of  patriotism  and  the  inspirer  of  cour- 
age ;  and  the  degree  to  which  the  mere  words  of  a 
song  maddened  the  Norsemen,  and  drove  them  to 
tremendous  deeds  during  many  stormy  centuries, 
is  shown  in  every  chapter  of  their  history,  and  in 
every  life  of  their  heroes ;  for  the  song  was  to  them 
sermon  and  newspaper,  oration  and  argument,  law 
and  promise,  all  in  one.  We  are  told  that  these 
anthems  of  war  were  sung  by  bards  in  the  fiercest 
tones,  and  that  their  influence  on  the  history  of 
Scandinavia  reads  like  one  loud  call  to  battle. 

The  popularity  and  power  of  some  of  those  old 
war  songs  of  centuries  ago  can  hardly  be  under- 
stood in  our  time.  A  few  years  ago  an  article 
appeared  in  The  Nineteenth  Century  which  gave 
instance  of  the  influence  of  song  in  shaping  the 
destinies  of  some  of  the  European  countries.  "By 
a  thousand  facts,"  the  article  says,  "we  know  that 


20  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

it  was  the  Teutonic  war  song  which  led  to  the 
destruction  of  Rome;  the  same  means  shattered 
the  civilization  of  Southern  Europe,  and  expur- 
gated the  corruption  of  the  oriental  influence,  and 
in  time  led  to  the  era  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the 
Crusades." 

But  what  I  desire  to  give  in  these  pages  is  the 
story  of  patriotic  songs,  and  more  particularly  to 
illustrate  and  illuminate  the  controlling  power  of 
the  great  battle-hymns  of  the  Union.  The  sacred 
fire  which  has  burned  on  the  altar  of  patriotism 
has  flamed  into  many  priceless  songs,  some  of 
which  will  forever  remain  among  the  most  potent 
influences  known  to  the  great  nations  of  the  world. 
Such  songs  were  born  of  the  greatest  moments  of 
the  singers  and  the  times.  When  the  civil  war 
began,  the  land  swarmed  with  singers.  They  were 
not  all  good,  but  the  best  of  them  will  live  as  long 
as  the  flag.  From  Julia  Ward  Howe's  brave  words 
in  the  "Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,"  to  the  negro 
melodies  of  the  far  South,  the  pean  of  courage  went 
up.  Observant  people  said  that  a  nation  which 
could  sing  such  songs  at  such  a  time  was  already 
assured  of  victory.  The  story  of  these  songs  of 
the  Union  warms  the  blood,  stimulates  patriotism, 
and  teaches  American  youth  that  they  have  a  herit- 
age of  glory  beyond  the  power  of  tongue  to  tell. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  POWER  OF  SONG.        21 

There  is  a  story  told  that  in  some  strange  land 
and  time  the  people  were  about  to  found  a  bell  for 
a  vast  midnight  tower.  It  should  toll  for  dead 
monarchs,  "The  king  is  dead,"  and  make  glad 
clamor,  for  the  new-born  prince,  "Long  live  the 
king."  Now,  this  bell  was  not  to  be  dug  out  of  the 
cold  mountain;  it  was  to  be  made  of  something 
that  had  been  warmed  by  human  touch  and  loved 
by  human  love,  and  so  the  people  came  like  pil- 
grims to  a  shrine,  and  cast  their  offerings  into  a 
furnace  and  went  away.  There  were  links  of 
chains  that  bondmen  had  worn,  and  fragments  of 
swords  that  had  been  broken  in  heroes'  hands. 
There  were  crosses,  and  bracelets,  and  rings  of  fine 
gold,  and  trinkets  of  silver  and  toys  of  poor  red 
copper.  They  even  brought  things  that  were 
licked  up  in  an  instant  by  the  red  tongues  of  flame, 
good  words  they  uttered,  flowers  they  had  cher- 
ished— perishable  things,  indeed,  these  never  could 
be  heard,  perchance,  in  the  rich  tone  and  volume 
of  the  bell.  But  by  and  by  the  bell  woke  in  its 
chamber,  and  its  great  waves  of  music  rolled  glo- 
riously out  over  all  the  land  like  an  anthem,  and 
every  tone  in  it  was  like  a  household  word  to  some- 
body. Everyone  that  had  given  the  least  thing  to 
the  making  of  that  bell  recognized  some  tone  and 
knew  it  with  a  solemn  joy.  Poured  into  one  fiery 


22  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

heat  together  the  humblest  gifts  were  blent  into 
one  great  wealth,  and  its  music  burst  forth  elo- 
quent and  strong,  and  the  people's  patriotic  soul 
heaved  on  the  wave  of  its  mighty  voice. 

Likewise  all  who  breathed  an  earnest  prayer, 
or  expressed  a  loyal  hope,  or  gave  readily  of  their 
means,  or  made  any  willing  sacrifice  that  out  of 
that  mortal  contest  of  arms  between  the  North  and 
the  South  there  might  come  one  flag — one  sweet 
land  of  liberty — can  hear,  in  these  priceless  songs 
of  the  Union,  some  tones  that  come  of  that  gift. 


YANKEE  DOODLE. 

FROM  THE  PAINTING   BY  WILLARD,  NOW    IN  THE  ABBOTT  HALL,   MARBLEHEAJ),   MASS. 


CHAPTEK  II. 


DOODLE." 


MEKICA,  with  a  national  life  of  little 
more  than  a  century,  has  produced 
some  battle  songs  of  powerful  and 
permanent  influence.  When  the  revo- 
lution began  there  was  no  song  for  the  colonists 
to  sing.  A  national  hymn,  as  well  as  a  national 
flag,  wrere  lacking.  "Music  is  the  universal  lan- 
guage of  emotion."  It  gives  vent  to  excite- 
ment. There  is  a  charming  eloquence  in  verse, 
and  the  strong  feeling  of  great  numbers  always 
tends  to  utterance  in  song. 

The  history  of  American  national  airs  begins 
with  a  breezy,  good-natured  sort  of  a  tune,  that 
men  often  laugh  at,  but  which  has  been  a  conquer- 
ing power  in  five  wars,  and  is  known  by  the  famil- 
iar and  eccentric  title  of  "Yankee  Doodle."  How, 
when,  or  where  the  tune  first  came  into  use,  no- 


24      STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

body  knows.  It  is  a  good  deal  like  Topsy,  "it  was 
never  born,  but  growed."  The  words,  adapted  to 
the  music  and  commonly  used  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  were  the  product  of  those  stirring  times, 
but  to  attempt  to  write  the  history  of  the  tune 
would  be  nothing  less  than  bewildering.  There  is 
as  much  amazing  obscurity  surrounding  the  origin 
of  "Yankee  Doodle"  as  there  is  uncertainty  con- 
nected with  the  airs  to  which  we  sing  "My  Coun- 
try, 'Tis  of  Thee,"  and  "John  Brown's  Body  Lies 
a  Mouldering  in  the  Grave."  But,  inasmuch  as 
the  tune  once  made  a  big  stir  in  the  world,  and 
rapidly  rose  from  a  composition  of  reproach  to  one 
of  triumph  and  rejoicing,  and  is  too  priceless  a 
heritage  for  Americans  to  disown  or  disuse,  it  will 
be  interesting,  perhaps,  as  well  as  curious,  to  look 
briefly  into  its  peculiar  history. 

Benson  J.  Lossing,  that  master  in  everything 
of  importance  concerning  revolutionary  times  and 
men,  tells  us  that  the  air  Nancy  Dawson — which, 
by  the  process  of  evolution,  became  known  as 
Yankee  Doodle — antedates  the  American  Revolu- 
tion by  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years. 
It  was  during  CromwelPs  time,  it  is  said,  that 
some  rustic  bard  broke  out  in  a  song  that  began — 


"YANKEE  DOODLE/'  25 

Nankey  Doodle  came  to  town, 

Riding  on  a  pony, 
With  a  feather  in  his  hat, 

Upon  a  macaroni. 

and  sung   to  the   redoubtable  tune   of   "Yankee 
Doodle." 

It  is  also  said  that  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I., 
the  Puritans,  who  wore  their  hair  cut  short,  were 
nicknamed  Roundheads  by  the  Cavaliers,  or  Roy- 
alists, who  wore  their  hair  in  long  ringlets.  The 
term  Yankee,  or  E"ankey,  was  applied  in  contempt 
to  the  Puritans  of  simple  ways,  by  the  proud 
followers  of  the  unfortunate  Charles.  The  word 
Yankee  is  defined  in  several  ways.  The  Century 
Dictionary  of  Names,  while  considering  the  origin 
of  Yankee  uncertain,  says  that  according  to  a 
common  statement,  "Yankees"  is  a  variation  of 
"  Yenkees,"  or  "  Yengees,"  or  "  Yaunghees,"  a  name 
said  to  have  been  given  by  Massachusetts  Indians 
to  the  English  colonists,  being,  it  is  supposed,  an 
Indian  corruption  of  the  word  English.  Some 
attempt  has  been  made  to  disprove  the  Cromwell- 
ian  origin  of  the  tune  and  words,  but  without 
result  in  giving  a  clearer  or  more  reasonable 
acount  of  either.  The  word  Doodle  is  defined  in 
the  old  English  dictionaries  to  be  a  trifling,  or 
simple  fellow,  and  the  term  was  applied  to  Crom- 


26  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

well,  so  it  is  claimed,  in  that  sense ;  and  a  macaroni 
was  a  knot  on  which  the  feather  was  fastened. 

But  again  referring  to  the  word  Yankee,  there 
is  a  story  told  that  a  farmer  of  Cambridge,  Mass., 
named  Jonathan  Hastings,  who  lived  about  the 
year  1713,  used  it  as  a  favorite  cant  word  to 
express  excellence,  as  a  yankee  good  horse  or 
yankee  good  cider.  The  students  of  Harvard 
college,  hearing  him  use  it  a  good  deal,  adopted  it 
and  called  him  Yankee  Jonathan,  and  as  he  was 
rather  a  weak  man,  the  students,  when  they  wished 
to  denote  a  character  of  that  kind,  would  call  him  a 
Yankee  Jonathan.  Like  other  cant  words,  it 
spread  and  came  finally  to  be  applied  to  the  New 
Englanders  as  a  term  of  reproach. 

It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  those 
entitled  to  a  hearing  in  this  matter,  that  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  which  has  long  since  become  an  Ameri- 
can national  air  without  words,  is  several  hundred 
years  old,  and  had  its  beginning  either  in  England, 
Spain,  Hungary,  or  Holland.  Recently  the  New 
York  Sun  printed  an  article  to  prove  that  the  tune 
was  commonly  used  among  the  Spaniards  long 
before  it  emigrated  to  America. 

In  Duyckinck's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Liter- 
ature the  statement  is  made  that  a  song  was  in  use 
among  the  laborers,  who  in  the  time  of  harvest, 


YANKEE  DOODLE/'  27 


migrated  from  Germany  to  the  low  countries  of 
Holland,  where  they  received  for  their  work  as 
much  buttermilk  as  they  could  drink  and  a  tenth  of 
the  grain  secured  in  the  harvest,  which  began  with 
the  verse — sung  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle" — 

"Yankee   didel,   doodel   down, 

Didel,  dudel  lanter, 
Yanke  viver,  voover  vown, 
Botermilk  and  Tanther." 

That  is,  buttermilk  and  a  tenth.  While  this 
narrative  has  been  reproduced  approvingly  in 
LittelPs  Living  Age,  and  in  many  other  distin- 
guished publications,  philologists  say  that  the 
words  made  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  harvest 
song  as  just  quoted,  are  not  found  in  any  known 
language  in  the  low  countries  of  Holland  or  any- 
where else,  which  is  good  authority  for  supposing 
that  such  a  story  cannot  be  safely  taken  as  history. 
The  story  of  "Yankee  Doodle"  from  the  time  it 
was  brought  to  this  country  is  definite,  and  absorb- 
ingly interesting.  It  has  had  a  great  mission. 
With  all  the  derision  that  has  been  heaped  upon  it, 
it  is  none  the  less  a  great  tune.  When  one  hears 
the  once  ridiculed  and  rollicksome  strains  of 
"Yankee  Doodle"  let  him  cogitate  the  fact  that  it 
has  been  the  marching  tune  of  all  the  victorious 
armies  of  American  patriots,  and  has  such  a 


28     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

universal  sentiment  and  universal  nationality,  that 
it  will  measure  the  tread  of  coming  millions.  It 
is  one  of  the  indestructible  institutions  of  America. 
It  has  a  character  of  its  own — comical,  rampant, 
"rattle-brainish,"  but  with  all  its  oddities,  it  has 
somehow  entwined  itself  so  closely  about  the 
national  heart  that  one  might  as  well  try  to  rob 
the  people  of  the  American  bicycle,  or  Bunker 
Hill,  as  this  "clattering,  right-about-face,  defiant 
battle  march." 

The  tune  was  brought  to  this  country  in  1755 
when  the  British  were  engaged  in  a  war  with  the 
French  and  Indians.  The  story  goes  that  the 
militia  which  were  called  to  aid  the  British  regular 
army  were  strangely  clad  in  many  colors,  some 
wearing  long  coats,  some  short  ones,  and  many 
having  none  of  any  kind  to  wear.  In  the 
British  army  was  one  Dr.  Richard  Shackburg, 
who  not  only  mended  shattered  limbs,  but  was 
somewhat  of  a  musician.  One  day  he  thought 
to  play  a  joke  upon  the  militia  because  of 
their  grotesque  figure  and  awkward  manner, 
and  with  much  mock  solemnity  he  presented 
them  the  words  and  music  of  "Yankee  Doodle," 
commending  the  tune  as  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished in  martial  music.  The  joke  greatly 
pleased  the  well  dressed  British  officers,  but  as  a 


DOODLE."  29 


joke  it  proved  a  stupendous  failure,  for  the  tune 
soon  became  the  battle  march  of  the  Revolution. 
They  who  laugh  last  laugh  best.  The  British 
officers  would  raise  shouts  of  laughter  when  they 
heard  the  innocent  and  simple-minded  militia  play 
"Yankee  Doodle/'  and  the  British  bands  would 
repeat  it  in  derision  of  the  colonists.  This 
contemptuous  use  of  the  song  by  the  English  army 
continued  more  than  twenty  years;  then  came 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  by  a  strange  irony  of 
fate,  the  colonists  made  the  British  dance  to  the 
tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle."  The  giving  of  the  tune 
to  the  ill-circumstanced  militia  in  mockery  of  their 
unfortunate  appearance,  was  a  prophetic  piece  of 
fun,  for  twenty-five  years  later  Lord  Cornwallis 
was  forced  to  march  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee 
Doodle"  when  entering  the  lines  of  the  same  colon- 
ists to  surrender  his  sword  and  his  army  to 
General  Washington. 

There  were  innumerable  songs  adapted  to  the 
tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle"  just  previous  to  and 
during  the  Revolutionary  war;  and  one  of  them 
began  — 

"Yankee  Doodle  is  the  tune 

Americans  delight  in: 
'Twill  do  to  whistle,  sing  or  play, 
And  is  just  the  thing  for  fighting." 


30     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

But  the  original  "Yankee  Doodle"  words  which 
became  the  song  of  the  Kevolution,  are  said  to  have 
been  written  by  a  Connecticut  gentleman,  and  it 
seems  that  fate  did  him  a  kindness  by  concealing 
his  name.  There  were  sixteen  stanzas  including 
the  chorus,  and  the  title  of  the  composition  was 
"Yankee  Doodle :  or  Father's  Eeturn  from  Camp." 
It  is  hardly  less  than  a  jumble  of  almost  idiotic 
lines,  and  the  hilarious  spirit  of  those  times,  and 
the  burlesque  character  of  the  song  which  created 
such  a  sensation  on  two  continents,  can  be  best 
illustrated  by  sacrificing  space  to  all  the  stanzas: 

Father  and  I  went  down  to  camp, 

Along  with  Cap'n  Good'n, 
And  there  we  saw  the  men  and  boys 

As  thick  as  hasty  puddin'. 

CHOBUS  : 

Yankee  doodle,  keep  it  up, 

Yankee  doodle  dandy 
Mind  the  music  and  the  step, 

And  with  the  girls  be  handy. 

And  there  we  see  a  thousand  men, 

As  rich  as  'Squire  David; 
And  what  they  wasted  every  day 

I  wish  it  could  be  saved. 

The  'lasses  they  eat  every  day 

Would  keep  a  house  in  winter; 

They  have  so  much  that  I'll  be  bound 
They  eat  it  when  they're  mind  ter. 


'YANKEE  DOODLE/'  31 


And  there  I  see  a  swamping  gun, 

Large  as  a  log  of  maple, 
Upon  a  deuced  little  cart 
A  load  for  father's  cattle. 

And  every  time  they  shoot  it  off 
It  takes  a  horn  of  powder, 

And  makes  a  noise  like  father's  gun, 
Only  a  nation  louder. 

I  went  as  nigh  to  one  myself 
As  'Siah's  underpinning; 
And  father  went  as  nigh  again, 
I  thought  the  deuce  was  in  him. 

Cousin  Simon  grew  so  bold 

I  thought  he  would  have  cocked  it; 
It  scared  me  so  I  shrinked  it  off 

And  hung  by  father's  pocket. 

And  Cap'n  Davis  had  a  gun, 

He  kind  o'  clapped  his  hand  on't, 

And  stuck  a  crooked  stabbing  iron 
Upon  the  little  end  on't, 

And  there  I  see  a  pumpkin  shell 

As  big  as  mother's  basin, 
And  every  time  they  touched  it  off 

They  scampered  like  the  nation. 

I  see  a  little  barrel,  too, 

The  heads  were  made  of  leather; 
They  knocked  on  it  with  little  clubs 

To  call  the  folks  together. 

And  there  was  Cap'n  Washington 
And  gentle  folks  about  him; 

They  say  he's  grown  so  'tarnal  proud 
He  will  not  ride  without  'em, 


32      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

He  got  him  in  his  meeting  clothes 

Upon  a  slapping  stallion; 
He  set  the  world  along  in  rows 

In  hundreds  and  in  millions. 

The  flaming  ribbons  in  his  hat 
They  looked  so  tearing  fine,  ah, 

I  wanted  dreadfully  to  get 
To  give  to  my  Jemima. 

I  see  another  snarl  of  men 

A-digging  graves,  they  told  me, 

So  'tarnal  long,  so  'tarnal  deep, 
They  'tended  they  should  hold  me. 

It  scared  me  so  I  hooked  it  off, 

Nor  stopped,  as  I  remember, 
Nor  turned  about,  till  I  got  home, 

Locked  up  in  mother's  chamber. 

There  is  some  disagreement  as  to  the  date  of 
these  words,  one  authority  claiming  that  they  first 
appeared  in  1765,  but  the  general  opinion  appears 
to  be  that  they  were  written  about  1775,  as  the  first 
recorded  account  is  of  their  being  sung  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Compared  with  the  later  battle  songs  of  the 
Union,  "Yankee  Doodle"  dwindles  into  an  aggre- 
gation of  senseless  stanzas,  but  its  remarkable 
popularity  and  power  at  a  time  when  the  American 
colonists  were  making  the  supreme  effort  for 
independence  closely  link  it  with  imperishable 
historical  associations. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BILLINGS THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  WAR  SONG 

WRITER. 

HE  quaintest  character  that  appears 
among  the  makers  of  American  war 
songs  was  William  Billings,  who  was 
born  in  Boston,  in  1746,  and  died  in 
the  same  city  in  1800.  The  story  of  his  life  has  a 
peculiar  interest,  for  the  reason  that  he  was  the 
earliest  native  writer  of  music  in  America.  He 
was  zealous  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  the  patri- 
otic ardor  which  characterized  his  songs  and  tunes 
made  them  a  power  among  the  colonists.  The 
New  England  soldiers,  who  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  were  stationed  in  the  Southern  States, 
committed  many  of  his  tunes  to  memory,  and 
amused  themselves  by  singing  them  in  camp  to  the 
delight  of  all  who  heard  them. 

This     Yankee     composer     of     psalm     tunes, 
anthems,  and  writer  of  army  songs,  should  not  be 


34     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

judged  by  the  musical  standard  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Flippant  critics  of  the  new  school  of 
music  have  tried  to  make  much  fun  of  him  because 
he  had  neither  a  musical  nor  literary  education. 
He  was  a  genius,  a  "diamond  in  the  rough/'  and 
it  has  been  said  by  someone  that  Billings7  works 
have  survived  their  critics,  aand  are  sung  in  grate- 
ful recollection  by  thousands  over  all  the  land, 
while  forgetfulness  covers  his  detractors." 

In  his  day,  and  according  to  his  opportunities, 
Billings  was  a  great  success.  He  was  taught  the 
business  of  a  tanner,  and  worked  at  the  trade  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  was  born  with  music  in  his 
soul,  and  quite  early  in  his  young  manhood  began 
to  sing,  then  to  teach,  and  finally  to  write  words 
and  compose  music  for  church  people  and  the 
colonial  army.  Of  course,  he  was  an  "awkward 
harmonist,"  a  "worse  contrapuntist,"  his  "tech- 
nique" was  deficient,  his  "consecutive  fifths"  were 
out  of  joint,  his  "progressions  of  octaves"  were 
illogical,  and  his  chords  and  harmonies  were 
tumbled  together  without  order,  but  he  roused  the 
people  by  his  songs,  and  was  the  great  musical 
missionary  of  his  time. 

Billings  was  a  man  of  rare  spiritual  earnest- 
ness, and  his  patriotism  was  as  fervid  as  his 
religious  nature  was  intense.  Dr.  Frederic 


WILLIAM  BILLINGS.  35 

Louis  Bitter,  in  his  "Music  in  America/'  says: 
"The  American  Revolution  caused  the  colonists  to 
turn  against  everything  that  was  British.  The 
innocent  old  psalm  tunes  received  a  part  of  the 
momentary  patriotic  hatred ;  and  with  the  tea  the 
British  tunes  were  also  thrown  overboard. " 
Billings  was  the  man  of  the  time  with  "the  genius 
and  zeal  to  write  words  and  music  that  moved  the 
hearts  and  nerved  the  arms  to  strike  for  freedom 
in  those  early  days."  He  assumed  the  task  of 
furnishing  words  and  music  to  take  the  place  of 
those  which  had  gone  overboard  with  the  tea. 
He  became  the  singer  of  the  army  and  the  psalmist 
of  the  church.  His  superior  inventive  genius  and 
his  ever  glowing  enthusiasm,  enabled  him  to  sup- 
ply music  for  almost  every  occasion.  One  of  his 
popular  songs  was  written  for  the  special  use  of  the 
army,  although  it  was  taken  up  by  the  people  and 
became  an  inspiring  force.  It  was  set  to  the  tune 
of  "Chester,"  his  own  composition,  an  air  that  was 
frequently  heard  from  every  fife  in  New  England. 
The  readers  can  obtain  a  tolerably  fair  idea  of  the 
quality  of  Billings7  patriotism  and  the  intensity  of 
his  poetic  fire  by  reading  his  battle  hymn : 

Let  tyrants  shake  their  iron  rod, 
And  slavery  clank  her  galling  chains; 
We'll  fear  them  not,  we'll  trust  in  God. 
New  England's  God  forever  reigns. 


36     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Howe  and  Burgoyne  and  Clinton,  too, 
With  Prescott  and  Cornwallis  join'd 
Together  plot  our  overthrow 
In  one  infernal  league  combin'd. 

When  God  inspir'd  us  for  the  fight 

Their  ranks  were  broke,  their  lines  were  forc'd, 

Their  ships  were  shatter'd  in  our  sight, 

Or  swiftly  driven  from  our  coast. 

The  foe  comes  on  with  haughty  stride, 

Our  troops  advance  with  martial  noise; 

Their  veterans  flee  before  our  arms, 

And  generals  yield  to  beardless  boys. 

What  grateful  offerings  shall  we  bring? 

What  shall  we  render  to  the  Lord? 

Loud  Hallelujahs  let  us  sing, 

And  praise  His  name  on  ev'ry  chord. 

Billings  was  a  many-sided  man  in  musical 
matters.  He  introduced  the  violincello  in  the 
church,  which  was  a  bold  innovation  in  those  days. 
He  also  brought  into  use  the  "pitch-pipe"  to  deliver 
choir  leaders  from  frequent  stumbling  in  pitching 
tunes  by  guess  work.  Dr.  Eitter  says  Billings 
also  originated  the  concert  that  became  immensely 
popular  throughout  New  England.  A  writer  in 
the  Chicago  Times-Herald  says  Billings  "para- 
phrased the  psalms  of  David  and  brought  them  to 
date.  Appreciating  the  religious  fervor  and  the 
spirit  of  the  day,  he  made  them  hymns  of  battle. 
The  people  familiar  with  their  scriptures,  firm  in 
belief  in  the  justice  of  their  cause,  found  only 


WILLIAM   BILLINGS.  37 

natural  an  application  to  themselves  of  the  old 
songs  of  bondage  of  the  children  of  Israel." 

It  can  be  justly  said  that  Billings — "the 
mixture  of  ludicrous,  eccentric,  commonplace, 
smart,  honest,  patriotic,  and  religious  elements" — 
did  more  for  the  musical  advancement  of  New 
England,  considering  the  condition  of  the  times  in 
which  he  lived,  than  any  man  who  followed  him. 
For  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  music  in  New 
England  scarcely  had  a  voice,  until  Billings  came. 
We  are  told  by  Hezekiah  Butterworth,  long  con- 
nected with  the  Youth's  Companion,  that,  like  the 
prophet  of  old,  he  led  the  way  of  those  who  have 
made  Boston  a  musical  city.  He  was  a  man  of 
surprising  energy.  He  published  several  books  of 
musical  instruction,  and  six  tune  books,  and  nearly 
all  the  airs  were  his  own  composition.  This  zeal- 
ous patriot,  who  was  the  first  to  teach  the  Ameri- 
can people  to  sing  anthems  of  praise  and  songs  of 
victory,  has  been  dead  over  a  century,  and  no 
monument,  not  so  much  as  a  simple  stone  slab, 
marks  his  resting  place  in  a  Boston  graveyard. 

There  were  many  attempts  to  write  patriotic 
songs  during  the  Eevolutionary  war.  It  seems  that 
almost  every  regiment  in  the  colonial  army  had  its 
war  poet,  but  when  the  war  ended  the  songs  were 
soon  forgotten.  The  music  was  " jostled  out  of  ex- 


38  STORIES  OF   GREAT   NATIONAL   SONGS. 

istence"  by  that  strangest  and  most  grotesque  of 
all  tunes — "Yankee  Doodle.'7  Just  why  the  people 
of  that  generation,  and  of  generations  since,  have 
accepted  that  tune  and  allowed  others  more  merito- 
rious to  become  obsolete,  is  a  freak  of  the  Ameri- 
can mind  that  puzzles  men  of  sober  thinking.  One 
critic,  I  think  it  is  Dr.  Eitter,  says  that  if  a  prize 
had  been  offered,  open  to  competition  among  all 
the  musicians  of  this  globe,  for  the  most  melodi- 
ously insignificant,  shallow,  and  trivial  song,  the 
author  of  "Yankee  Doodle"  would  have  received 
the  distinguished  reward. 

William  Billings  composed  several  tunes  which 
were  worthy  to  continue  in  commemoration  of 
the  momentous  times  which  produced  them;  but 
somehow — not  known  to  our  philosophy — they  are 
as  dead  as  a  mummy,  while  "Yankee  Doodle," 
with  all  its  shallowness  and  grotesqueness,  is  still 
a  paean  of  victory. 


CHAPTEK  IV. 


THE  FIRST  ORIGINAL  AMERICAN  SONG 

"HAIL  COLUMBIA." 


T  is  one  of  the  curiosities  of  history 
that  the  first  American  song  of  a  na- 
tional character  was  written  for  the 
purpose  of  drawing  a  large  house  to  a 
theatrical  performance  in  Philadelphia  in  order  to 
save  a  young  singer  and  actor  from  pecuniary  em- 
barrassment. 

Mr.  S.  J.  Adair  Fitz-Gerald,  in  his  interesting 
aStories  of  Famous  Song,"  says:  "There  is  no 
romance  whatever  attached  to  the  origin  of  'Hail 
Columbia.' '  It  is  evident  that  he  said  this  be- 
cause he  did  not  understand  the  story  of  the  stormy 
times  in  which  this  song  was  written. 

England  and  France  were  involved  in  a  quar- 
rel, and  war  between  the  two  countries  was  immi- 
nent. In  1794  the  United  States  had  concluded 
the  Jay  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  which  was 
assailed  with  furious  denunciations  by  the  Repub- 


40     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS 

licans,  who  later  became  known  as  Democrats.  The 
treaty  was  thought  by  them  to  be  too  friendly  to 
England,  as  it  pledged  the  United  States  not  to 
interfere  in  behalf  of  France  when  a  crisis  was 
reached  by  the  two  nations.  The  Federalists,  be- 
longing to  the  administration  party,  gave  the 
treaty  their  hearty  approval,  and  many  of  them 
were  so  bitter  in  their  hatred  of  France  that  any 
insult  whatever  from  that  power  was  enough  to 
rouse  them  to  advocate  war.  This  feeling  of  bit- 
terness between  the  Federalists  and  Democrats 
continued  until  1798,  when,  during  the  height  of 
the  popular  fury  against  France,  the  Federal  Con- 
gress passed  the  famous  alien  and  sedition  acts,  by 
which  aliens  were  rendered  liable  to  summary  ban- 
ishment from  the  United  States  at  the  discretion  of 
the  president.  This  made  the  breach  between  the 
factions  wider  than  ever.  Party  spirit  ran  high. 
Resentf ulness  and  hate  were  engendered  on  all 
hands.  Mr.  Motley,  in  his  brilliant  history  of 
William  the  Silent,  tells  us  that  a  little  dog  saved 
the  Dutch  Republic ;  and  it  can  be  said  that  a  song, 
more  than  any  other  agency,  incited  national 
pride,  allayed  party  passion,  and  averted  a  serious 
entanglement  in  the  European  conflict. 

It  was  during  this  reign  of  partisanship  that 
a  theater  was  opened  in  Philadelphia,  and  a  benefit 


HAIL  COLUMBIA."  41 


was  to  be  given  to  a  young  man,  Gilbert  Fox  by 
name,  who  had  some  talent  as  a  singer.  But  the 
warlike  condition  of  things  threw  discouragement 
on  the  undertaking.  The  singer  was  somewhat 
acquainted  with  Joseph  Hopkinson,  who  was  then 
a  young  lawyer,  and  calling  upon  him  one  Satur- 
day afternoon  in  April,  1798,  he  earnestly  pleaded 
with  him  to  furnish  a  patriotic  song  which  could 
be  sung  to  the  tune  then  known  as  the  "President's 
March,"  composed  in  1789  by  a  German  professor 
in  Philadelphia,  named  Phylo,  alias  Feyles,  alias 
Thyla,  alias  Phyla,  alias  Roth,  and  was  first 
played  at  Trenton  when  Washington  was  on  his 
way  to  New  York  to  be  inaugurated  president. 
Mr.  Hopkinson' s  sympathy  for  the  young  man  in- 
duced him  to  write  the  words  now  recognized  as 
"Hail  Columbia."  The  two  stanzas  which  were 
more  frequently  used  than  any  others,  are  the 
following : 

Hail,  Columbia!   happy  land! 
Hail,  ye  heroes,  heav'n  born  band! 

Who  fought  and  bled  in  Freedom's  cause, 

Who  fought  and  bled  in  Freedom's  cause, 
And  when  the  storm  of  war  was  gone, 
Enjoyed  the  peace  your  valor  won. 

Let  independence  be  our  boast, 

Ever  mindful  what  it  cost, 
Ever  grateful  for  the  prize, 
Let  its  altar  reach  the  skies. 


42         STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

CHOBUS  : 

Firm,  united,  let  us  be, 
Rallying  round  our  liberty! 
As  a  band  of  brothers  joined, 
Peace  and  safety  we  shall  find. 

Immortal  patriots,  rise  once  more! 

Defend  your  rights,  defend  your  shore ! 
Let  no  rude  foe,  with  impious  hand, 
Let  no  rude  foe,  with  impious  hand, 

Invade  the  shrine  where  sacred  lies, 

Of  toil  and  blood  the  well-earned  prize. 
While  off'ring  peace  sincere  and  just, 
In  heaven  we  place  a  manly  trust, 

That  truth  and  justice  shall  prevail, 
And  every  scheme  of  bondage  fail. 

The  song  packed  the  house.  It  was  called  for 
again  and  again  during  the  same  performance,  and 
at  the  finale  the  audience  rose  and  lustily  joined 
in  the  chorus,  and  the  public  heart  was  so  pro- 
foundly touched  by  its  patriotic  sentiment  that 
England  and  France  sank  before  "Hail  Colum- 
bia." The  song  evoked  such  universal  interest 
that  within  a  few  nights  after  it  was  first  given, 
President  Adams  and  the  heads  of  all  the  govern- 
mental departments  attended  the  theatre  to  hear 
the  new-born  song,  and  the  enthusiasm  was  so  in- 
tense that  the  singer  was  called  out  time  and  again. 

Congress  was  in  session  at  the  time,  and  when 
thousands  of  people  assembled  on  the  streets  in 
the  evenings,  congressmen  joined  them  in  singing 


HAIL  COLUMBIA."  43 


the  new  national  song.  It  is  not  a  great  song,  per- 
haps, and  possibly  it  has  endured  far  beyond  any 
merit  of  its  own,  and  certainly,  as  Judge  Hopkin- 
son  says,  beyond  his  expectation.  But  the  song 
which  kindled  and  kept  alive  an  American  spirit, 
when  such  a  spirit  was  vital  to  national  honor  and 
public  peace — lifting  the  people  above  the  disturb- 
ing passions  and  conflicting  policies  of  the  hour — 
is  a  song  which  should  live  always  in  the  good  will 
of  the  American  people. 


CHAPTEE  V. 


"THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER." 


F  all  the  songs  inspired  of  patriotism 
and  born  in  the  fierce  passions  of  war, 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner"  proba- 
bly has  the  firmest  hold  on  the  Ameri- 
can people.  It  is  the  product  of  one  of  the  most 
romantic  and  thrilling  events  in  our  national 
history. 

With  the  renewal  of  war  between  England  and 
France  in  1803,  came  a  return  of  trouble  to  the 
United  States.  Shortly  after  the  war  with  France 
began,  England  claimed  the  right  to  search  Ameri- 
can vessels  for  deserters  from  the  English  navy. 
Thousands  of  Americans  were  seized  and  forced 
to  fight  for  England ;  and  to  avenge  these  outrages, 
the  United  States  declared  war  in  1812.  It  is 
another  curious  fact  of  history  that  the  excellent 
frigates  built  during  the  exciting  period  which 
called  forth  "Hail  Columbia/7  when  the  party  in 


FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY. 


"THE  STAB  SPANGLED  BANNER/''  45 

power  was  thought  by  the  opposition  to  be  too 
friendly  toward  Great  Britain,  were  the  nucleus 
of  the  gallant  navy  that  by  and  by  should  win  such 
triumphs  over  England  in  the  stormy  times  that 
produced  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 

In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1814,  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Beanes,  an  old  resident  of  Upper  Marlbor- 
ough,  Maryland,  was  captured  by  Gen.  Ross  of 
the  British  army,  and  held  as  a  prisoner  on  the 
admiral's  flagship,  the  "Surprise."  The  doctor 
was  a  personal  friend  of  Francis  Scott  Key,  then 
a  young  lawyer  living  at  Baltimore.  On  the  2d 
of  September,  1814,  writing  from  Georgetown,  to 
his  mother,  Mr.  Key  said:  "I  am  going  to  Balti- 
more in  the  morning  to  proceed  in  a  flag  vessel  to 
Gen.  Ross.  Old  Dr.  Beanes,  of  Marlborough,  is 
taken  prisoner  by  the  enemy,  who  threaten  to  carry 
him  off."  Key  found  the  English  fleet  in  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  and  was  kindly  received  by  Admiral 
Cochrane.  But  the  enemy  was  about  to  make  a 
combined  attack  by  sea  and  land  upon  Fort 
McHenry;  and  while  Gen.  Ross  consented  to  the 
release  of  Dr.  Beanes,  it  was  stipulated  that  all  of 
the  American  party  should  remain  on  the  "Sur- 
prise" until  the  fort  was  reduced. 

All  during  that  eventful  night,  the  13th  of 
September,  the  great  guns  of  the  fleet  poured  a 


46      STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

blazing  shower  of  shot  and  shell  upon  the  fortress. 
Key,  standing  on  the  deck  of  the  English  ship,  in 
the  midst  of  the  excitement  of  the  terrific  bom- 
bardment, could  see  at  intervals,  by  the  glare  of 
the  rocket  and  the  flash  of  the  cannon,  the  Ameri- 
can flag  waving  victoriously  over  its  gallant  de- 
fenders. It  was  a  hot,  persistent  fight,  taxing  the 
courage,  the  endurance,  and  the  patriotism  of  the 
brave  soldiers  to  the  utmost.  In  the  stirring  enthu- 
siasm of  that  supreme  moment,  and  at  the  dawn's 
early  light,  when  the  Stars  and  Stripes  rose  above 
the  smoke  of  conflict,  and  seemed  to  wave  in 
triumph  from  the  very  battlements  of  heaven,  Key 
wrote  the  song  that  should  be  as  deathless  as  the 
flag  itself : 


O  say  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 

What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming; 
Whose  stripes  and  bright  stars  thro'  the  perilous  fight 

O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched  were  so  gallantly  streaming — 
And  the  rocket's  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there; 
O  say,  does  that  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave 

O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave? 


On  the  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 
Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  the  dread  silence  reposes, 

What  is  thai  which  the  breeze  o'er  the  towering  steep, 
As  it  fitfully  blows,  half  conceals,  half  discloses? 


Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning's  first  beam, 
In  full  glory  reflected  now  shines  in  the  stream; 
'Tis  the  star-spangled  banner — Oh,  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 

And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vauntingly  swore 

That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle's  confusion 
A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more? 

Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  footsteps  pollution. 
No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave 
From  the  terror  of  flight  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave; 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

O !  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation; 
Blest  with  vict'ry  and  peace  may  the  Heaven-rescued  land 
Praise  the   Power   that  hath  made   and  preserved  us   a 

nation. 

Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just, 
And  this  be  our  motto:     "In  God  is  our  trust;" 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave! 

The  day  after  the  bombardment,  Key  was 
taken  ashore,  and  a  clear  copy  of  the  song  was 
made;  and  the  day  following  it  was  read  to  a 
friend  and  kinsman  of  Key,  Judge  Nicholson, 
who,  delighted  with  it,  urged  that  it  should  be 
printed,  and  in  a  few  hours  "The  Star  Spangled 
Banner"  was  read  everywhere  in  Baltimore,  .and 
was  received  with  the  liveliest  pleasure. 

How  to  utilize  the  song  was  the  next  question. 


48  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  after  the  words  were  cir- 
culated throughout  the  city,  that  a  gathering  of 
army  comrades  took  place  at  a  one-story  tavern 
standing  next  door  to  the  Holiday  Street  theatre. 
Key  was  present,  and  read  the  song  two  or  three 
times,  and  the  pathetic  eloquence  of  the  lines  elec- 
trified the  soldiers.  When  some  one  demanded 
that  it  should  be  sung,  one  account  says  that  Ferdi- 
nand Durang,  an  actor,  being  acquainted  with  an 
old  English  air,  "To  Anacreon  in  Heaven,"  quickly 
made  the  proper  adaptation,  and,  mounting  a 
chair,  sang  the  song  with  such  voice  and  feeling 
as  to  throw  the  hearers  in  the  wildest  state  of  ex- 
citement. In  four  days  it  found  its  way  on  the 
stage,  where  it  was  received  with  spontaneous  and 
unbounded  enthusiasm.  The  song  seems  to  have 
been  pitched  to  the  keynote  of  a  screaming  shell, 
and  everywhere,  in  places  of  amusement,  in  camp, 
and  in  the  home,  it  went  straight  to  the  popular 
heart. 

The  old  English  tune,  "To  Anacreon  in 
Heaven,"  with  which  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner" 
is  inseparably  associated,  was  composed  in  Lon- 
don, sometime  between  1770  and  1775,  by  John 
Stafford  Smith.  He  was  a  member  of  an  aristo- 
cratic society  called  the  "Anacreonites,"  and  the 
regular  fortnightly  meetings  were  always  opened 


"THE  STAK  SPANGLED  BANNEK."  49 

with  the  constitutional  song,  "To  Anacreon  in 
Heaven." 

The  flag  of  Fort  McHenry,  which  inspired  the 
immortal  lines  of  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner/7 
was  made  by  Mrs.  Mary  Pickersgill,  whose  mother, 
Rebecca  Young,  made  the  first  flag  carried  by  the 
colonists  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Its  orig- 
inal dimensions  were  forty  feet  by  twenty-nine, 
but  the  shells  from  the  English  fleet,  and  the  de- 
structiveness  of  time,  reduced  its  length  to  thirty- 
two  feet.  It  is  still  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation, 
and  is  owned  by  Mr.  Eben  Appleton,  of  Yonkers, 
!N".  Y.,  whose  grandfather,  Colonel  George  Arm- 
stead,  was  one  of  the  heroic  defenders  of  McHenry 
in  1814. 

Francis  Scott  Key  was  thirty-four  years  old 
when  he  wrote  his  famous  song,  and  died  on  the 
llth  of  January,  1843.  William  Richard  Here- 
ford sang  of  "Destiny"  in  these  four  lines : 

"Some  singers  sing  but  a  single  song 

And  the  world  remembers  every  word, 
While  others  sing  their  whole  lives  long, 
Then  die  at  last  unknown,  unheard." 

Key  was  the  singer  of  a  single  song,  and  his  name 
will  not  fade  from  the  minds  of  men  as  long  as  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  endure. 

There  is  splendid  patriotism  in  the  consecra- 


50      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

tion  by  James  Lick,  of  California,  of  $150,000 
to  the  building  and  maintaining  of  a  monument 
in  San  Francisco  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  him 
who  wrote  the  first  flag  song  of  the  Republic.  And 
the  recent  movement  in  Maryland  to  accept  con- 
tributions of  school  children  of  that  state  for  the 
building  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 
author  of  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  is  a  noble 
expression  of  patriotic  sentiment.  We  rear  monu- 
ments to  all  sorts  of  heroes,  and  why  not  build 
memorials  of  the  men  and  women  who  have  in- 
spired us  by  their  songs  to  win  victories,  not  only 
in  war,  but  still  greater  victories  in  morals  and 
religion,  and  which  have  been  won  on  the  battle- 
field of  the  human  heart  ? 

Colonel  Henry  Watterson,  in  his  admirable  ad- 
dress at  the  unveiling  of  the  Key  monument  at 
Frederick,  Md.,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1898,  said 
that  "the  ways  of  Providence  to  man  are  inscrut- 
able; that  some  mysterious  power,  unexplained 
and  unfathomable,  has,  from  the  beginning  of 
time,  ruled  the  destinies  of  men."  It  is  never  by 
accident  or  chance  that  a  great  song  that  moves  the 
world  is  born.  Victor  Hugo  tells  us  that  it  was  the 
decree  of  God — the  law  of  the  nineteenth  century 
— that  Bonaparte  should  not  conquer  at  Waterloo. 
"That  vast  man  had  been  impeached  before  the 


THE  KEY  MONUMENT,  FREDERICK,  MD. 


"THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER/'  51 

Infinite."  By  an  influence  as  divinely  controlled, 
Charles  Wesley,  an  impetuous  boy  of  fifteen,  was 
led  to  decline  the  heirship  to  the  Wellesley  estate 
in  Ireland;  for,  according  to  all  human  calcula- 
tion, had  it  been  otherwise,  the  world  never  would 
have  sung  his  incomparable  hymns  which  have 
touched  the  heart  of  Christendom ;  and  the  soldier 
who  overthrew  Bonaparte — the  most  ambitious 
despot  in  modern  warfare — never  would  have  been 
born.  Edmund  Burke  says:  "That  great  chain 
of  causes,  which,  linking  one  to  another,  even  to 
the  throne  of  God  himself,  can  never  be  unraveled 
by  any  industry  of  ours." 

The  hour  and  the  man  met  in  the  struggle  at 
Fort  McHenry,  not  by  any  power  of  the  will  or 
the  flesh,  but  by  a  law  of  the  Almighty,  and  out  of 
that  baptism  of  fire  came  a  glorious  inspiration, 
and  from  the  soul  of  Key  burst  forth  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner/'  the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis  of 
American  freedom."  It  is  a  song  that  will  ever 
inspire  a  devotion  to  the  flag,  and  like  its  com- 
panion, "Old  Glory,"  it  will  never  find  a  grave- 
yard, but  will  sing  on  through  the  centuries,  its 
music  ever  accelerating  the  step  of  American  free- 
men in  the  great  march  of  human  progress. 

There  are  three  national  songs  with  which  the 
American  people  ought  to  be  perfectly  familiar — 


52     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

"The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  "My  Country,  'tis 
of  Thee,"  and  "The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Bepub- 
lic."  The  first  one  chants  the  glory  of  the  flag, 
and  it  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  the  great  mass 
of  people  are  so  little  acquainted  with  the  lines 
of  the  song  of  immortal  memory.  The  death  of 
that  splendid  and  highly  honored  tragedian, 
Thomas  W.  Keene,  which  occurred  in  May,  1898, 
calls  to  mind  the  fact  that  a  few  years  ago  he 
joined  several  distinguished  actors,  singers  and 
orators,  in  taking  part  in  a  Press  entertainment 
given  at  Central  Music  Hall,  Chicago.  After  the 
tremendous  applause  which  greeted  the  appearance 
of  Mr.  Keene  had  ceased,  he  said  he  would  recite 
something  new,  and  began  "The  Star  Spangled 
Banner."  A  few  in  the  audience  applauded  him, 
others  tittered,  and  many  laughed  in  derision ;  but 
Mr.  Keene  took  the  outbreak  pleasantly,  and  be- 
fore proceeding  further  he  said :  "  'The  Star 
Spangled  Banner'  is  so  new  to  you  that  I  will  give 
$100  to  charity  in  Chicago  if  any  man  or  woman 
in  this  audience  will  read  it  from  memory."  Not 
a  person  responded. 

Whenever  the  spirit  of  patriotism  rises  to  its 
divinest  height,  this  song  is  sure  to  be  present.  On 
the  Sunday  following  the  firing  on  Sumter,  the 
scene  in  thousands  of  churches  in  the  North  was 


"THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER."  53 

one  which  attested  the  loyalty  of  our  people ;  and 
the  memory  of  those  stirring  times  and  all  which 
that  Sabbath  meant  to  this  Union  has  not  grown 
dim  in  the  passing  of  a  third  of  a  century.  When 
men  and  women  met  to  worship  on  that  day,  they 
also  met  to  vow  their  allegiance  to  the  flag ;  and  in 
hundreds  of  churches  the  pulpits  were  draped  with 
the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  there  went  up  from  the 
hearts,  as  well  as  from  the  lips  of  the  people,  the 
sublime  strains  of  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner.77 

Just  four  years  after  the  flag  was  hauled  down 
at  Sumter,  there  was  a  memorable  gathering  at  the 
same  fort.  It  was  on  the  very  day  Lincoln  was 
assassinated.  The  self-same  flag,  shell-tattered  in 
the  bombardment  of  761,  was  to  be  re-hoisted. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  requested  by  the  United 
States  government  to  go  to  Sumter  and  deliver  the 
oration.  It  was  a  day  of  victory  for  "Old  Glory.77 

After  the  cannon  had  given  some  emphatic  ex- 
pressions of  exultant  gladness,  the  flag  was  uncov- 
ered at  the  base  of  the  staff,  and  a  ripple  of 
applause  passed  over  the  multitude,  but  this  was 
hushed  as  if  by  the  very  breath  of  God,  and  the 
pent-up  feelings  of  the  great  orator  and  of  the  vast 
concourse  broke  out  in  tears  and  sobs  of  joy.  But 
when  Maj.  Anderson  hoisted  the  flag,  and  it  floated 
beautifully  out  in  the  charming  breeze  of  a  perfect 


54  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

day,  the  band  struck  up  "The  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner," and  the  people  gave  their  patriotic  emo- 
tions full  sway  in  singing  the  song  of  the  flag 
triumphant. 

There  is  no  other  song  that  stirs  one's  pat- 
riotic blood  with  more  vigor  in  any  great  na- 
tional emergency  than  this  anthem  of  the  flag. 
One  week  after  the  blowing  up  of  the  battleship 
Maine,  the  orchestra,  at  Daly's  Theatre  in  New 
York,  had  played  a  few  bars  of  the  regular 
program,  when  suddenly  it  changed  to  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner."  The  patriotic  tune  had  not 
proceeded  far  before  there  came  a  tremendous  yell. 
No  one  knew  from  whence  it  came,  for 
it  seemed  to  come  from  everywhere  at  once. 
A  report  of  the  scene  says  that  the  patriotic 
play-goers  forgot  their  surroundings,  and,  leap- 
ing to  their  feet,  cheered  in  a  way  that 
drowned  the  orchestra.  Women  waved  their 
fans,  handkerchiefs  and  programs,  others  joined 
in  the  refrain,  and  finally  the  whole  audi- 
ence rose  and  sang  the  inspiring  words  until  the 
music  ceased;  and  the  soul-stirring  scene  closed 
with  a  mighty  shout  that  fairly  shook  the  walls. 
It  was  said  that  not  another  such  event  had  been 
witnessed  in  any  New  York  theater  since  civil  war 
times.  It  was  an  outburst  of  emotion  inspired  by 


"THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER/'  55 

the  song,  and  was  indicative  of  the  state  of  the 
public  mind  in  reference  to  the  Cuban  question. 
The  circumstance  illustrates  the  fact  that  "Ameri- 
can patriotism  is  always  on  tap,  and  that  the 
American  people  stand  ever  ready  to  leap,  like  an 
armed  giant,  into  the  fight  at  the  first  call  of  duty.'7 
One  of  the  most  thrilling  incidents  in  the 
annals  of  war,  showing  the  power  of  patriotic  song, 
was  that  on  the  ramparts  of  Santiago  on  that 
memorable  Friday,  the  1st  of  July,  1898.  I  think 
it  was  in  the  Twenty-first  regulars,  that  man  after 
man  was  fast  falling  in  blood  and  death  before  a 
blazing  fire  of  Mauser  bullets,  when  the  soldiers, 
catching  a  fresh  gleam  of  the  flag  at  a  critical  mo- 
ment, spontaneously  began  to  sing  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner/'  and  its  majestic  strains  so 
thrilled  the  souls  of  the  men  that  they  seemed  to  be 
nerved  by  some  superhuman  power  to  defy  the 
storm  of  battle,  and  to  win  the  victory  that  sealed 
the  fate  of  Santiago. 


CHAPTEK  VI. 


"MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE." 


the  mysteries  of  human  life 
none  is  farther  beyond  our  power  of 
penetration  than  the  inspired  mo- 
ment that  comes  to  some  soul,  and 
out  of  which  is  born  a  great  song  that  moves 
the  heart  of  the  world.  These  single  flashes  of 
inspiration,  producing  songs  that  have  so  power- 
fully affected  the  destinies  of  humanity,  are  never 
repeated,  in  an  equal  degree,  in  the  same  indi- 
vidual. Every  poet  of  the  soul,  every  minstrel  of 
our  joys  and  hopes  and  heart-experiences,  has  his 
masterpiece;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  foreor- 
dained that  he  shall  never  bring  forth  another  of 
like  merit.  There  are  thousands  of  things  in  these 
strange  lives  of  ours  that  we  cannot  explain,  and 
this  is  one  of  them.  It  is  as  great  a  mystery  as 
love,  or  the  union  of  soul  and  body.  Brander  Mat- 
thews says  that  "no  man  has  ever  yet  sat  him  down 


SAMUEL    F.    SMITH. 


"MY  COUNTRY,  "'TIS  OF  THEE."  57 

and  taken  up  his  pen  and  said,  'I  will  write  a  na- 
tional'hymn/  and  composed  either  words  or  music 
which  the  nation  was  willing  to  take  for  its  own." 
Songs  that  live,  and  make  great  history,  are  never 
produced  in  that  way.  When  Mozart  was  asked 
how  he  set  to  work  to  compose  a  symphony,  he  re- 
plied: "If  once  you  think  how  you  are  to  do  it, 
you  will  never  write  anything  worth  hearing;  I 
write  because  I  cannot  help  it." 

In  the  making  of  songs  many  pieces  "are  called 
but  few  chosen."  There  is  a  single  "Mount  Wash- 
ington" standing  out  in  clear  relief  above  and  be- 
yond all  other  songs  which  men  and  women  pro- 
duce. And  if  we  turn  to  history  we  find  this 
illustrated  in  national  hymns  and  battle  songs  by 
Francis  Scott  Key's  "Star  Spangled  Banner;" 
Julia  Ward  Howe's  "Battle  Hymn  of  the  Repub- 
lic;" George  F.  Root's  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom;" 
Henry  C.  Work's  "Marching  Through  Georgia;" 
Rouget  de  Lisle's  "Marseillaise  Hymn;"  Max 
Schenckenberger's  "Watch  on  the  Rhine ;"  and  in 
sacred  song  by  Isaac  Watts'  "When  I  Survey  the 
Wondrous  Cross ;"  Charles  Wesley's  "Jesus,  Lover 
of  My  Soul;"  Augustus  M.  Toplady's  "Rock  of 
Ages;"  Edward  Perronet's  "All  Hail  the  Power 
of  Jesus'  Name;"  Henry  Francis  Lyte's  "Abide 
With  Me;"  Sarah  Flower  Adams'  "Nearer,  My 


58  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

God,  to  Thee;"  Charlotte  Elliott's  "Just  as  I  Am;" 
Kay  Palmer's  "My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee ;"  and 
John  Henry  Newman's  "Lead,  Kindly  Light." 
And  Dr.  Samuel  E.  Smith  was  also  a  man  of  one 
song — one  that  towers  grandly  above  all  other 
songs  he  ever  wrote.  While  he  is  the  author  of  that 
fine,  popular  mission  hymn,  "The  Morning  Light 
Is  Breaking,"  it  was  his  national  song  that  made 
his  name  and  his  fame  a  part  of  the  imperish- 
able history  of  America  and  American  patriotism. 
Eighty  years  ago  Dr.  Smith  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  University  in  the  class  with  the  dis- 
tinguished Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  who,  in 
later  years,  thus  referred  to  his  classmate  in  a  re- 
union poem : 

"And  there's  a  fine  youngster  of  excellent  pith, 
Fate  tried  to  conceal  him  by  naming  him  Smith." 

Three  years  after  his  graduation  this  "young- 
ster of  excellent  pith"  wrote  a  poem  of  four 
stanzas.  It  did  not  then  appear  to  be  a  special  con- 
tribution to  our  patriotic  literature,  or  of  any  par- 
ticular value  to  the  hymnology  of  the  church ;  but 
the  gift  was  so  important — so  national,  so  uplift- 
ing, and  so  ennobling  in  its  influence,  that  sixty- 
five  years  later,  Dr.  Holmes  said,  a  short  time  be- 
fore his  death,  in  1894:  "Now,  there's  Smith. 
His  name  will  be  honored  by  every  school  child  in 


"MY  COUNTRY  'TIS  OF  TIIEE."  59 

the  land  when  I  have  been  forgotten  a  hundred 
years.  He  wrote  'My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee.7  If 
he  had  said  'Our  Country'  the  hymn  would  not 
have  been  immortal,  but  that  'My'  was  a  master- 
stroke. Every  one  who  sings  the  hymn  at  once 
feels  a  personal  ownership  in  his  native  land.  The 
hymn  will  last  as  long  as  the  country." 

Samuel  F.  Smith  was  born  in  Boston  in  1808. 
He  became  a  theological  student,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  Andover  Seminary  in  1832.  The  story 
of  the  origin  of  the  great  national  hymn  is  a  sim- 
ple one  and  has  been  many  times  repeated.  In 
1832  William  C.  Woodbridge,  a  friend  of  Dr. 
Smith's,  who  had  been  visiting  Germany  and  the 
German  schools,  brought  home  with  him  a  lot  of 
German  music  books.  Mr.  Woodbridge  gave  the 
books  to  Lowell  Mason,  who  was  then  giving  vocal 
music  an  extraordinary  impulse  throughout  New 
England;  and  afterwards  did  more  to  raise  the 
standard  of  American  church  music  and  make  it 
popular  than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived.  But 
Mr.  Mason,  being  unable  to  read  German,  turned 
the  books  over  to  Dr.  Smith,  remarking  at  the  time 
that  he  would  be  pleased  to  have  any  poetical 
translation  the  young  man  saw  proper  to  make. 
"Turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  books  one  gloomy 
day  in  February,  1832,"  said  Dr.  Smith  many 


60     STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

years  afterwards,  "I  came  across  the  air  'God  Save 
the  King.'  I  liked  the  music.  I  glanced  at  the 
German  words  at  the  foot  of  the  page.  Under  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment  I  went  to  work  and  in 
half  an  hour  'America'  was  the  result.  It  was 
written  on  a  scrap  of  paper  I  picked  up  from  the 
table,  and  the  hymn  of  to-day  is  substantially  as  it 
was  written  that  day:" 

My  country!  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing; 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride, 
From  every  mountain  side 

Let  freedom  ring. 

My  native  country,  thee, 
Land  of  the  noble,  free, 

Thy  name  I  love; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above. 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  freedom's  song; 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake, 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break, 

The  sound  prolong. 


"MY   COUNTRY,     TIS   OF   THEE.  61 

Our  Fathers'  God,  to  Thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing; 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light; 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King! 

Edward  Everett  Hale  tells  the  pleasant  story 
that  when  he  was  ten  years  old  he  had  spent  all  his 
Fourth  of  July  pennies  in  root-beer,  ginger  snaps 
and  oysters,  at  a  celebration  on  Boston  Common, 
and  was  strolling  homeward  when  he  saw  hundreds 
of  Sunday  school  children  marching  into  Park 
Street  Church.  Boy-like,  he  soon  joined  the  pro- 
cession, got  into  the  church,  made  his  way  to  the 
gallery,  and  heard  five  hundred  young  voices  sing 
"My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee,"  to  the  tune  that  Dr. 
Smith  had  found  in  a  German  music  book.  This 
was  in  1832,  and  was  the  first  time  the  hymn  had 
been  sung  in  public. 

It  is  difficult  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  tune 
which  will  be  forever  associated  with  "My 
Country,  'tis  of  Thee."  Some  suppose  it  was  com- 
posed in  England  about  1715,  by  Henry  Carey, 
poet  and  musician,  who  died  by  his  own  hand  in 
1743.  But  there  seems  to  be  no  sufficient  reason 
for  attributing  to  him  the  air  to  which  the  national 
hymns  of  America,  England  and  Prussia  are  sung. 


62     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  New  York  8un,  in  a  clever  answer  to  a  cor- 
respondent as  to  the  beginning  of  "America," 
essayed  to  follow  the  tune  down  the  centuries 
as  follows :  "The  tune  was  not  English  originally, 
though  the  English  use  it  for  their  royal  anthem. 
It  was  used  by  the  Germans  long  before  it  was 
taken  up  by  the  English,  and  we  are  assured  by  a 
musical  explorer  that  the  Germans  got  it  from  the 
Norsemen,  who  had  probably  heard  it  sung  by  the 
Einns,  who  most  likely  captured  it  from  the  Huns, 
who  doubtless  brought  it  from  Asia  when  they 
entered  Europe.  We  told  in  the  Sun  long  ago  of 
our  attempt  to  trace  this  very  old  tune  through  the 
ages,  from  country  to  country,  and  to  its  birth- 
place. We  found  that  it  had  been  known  to  vari- 
ous races,  and  we  found  it  as  far  back  as  we  could 
go.  It,  or  something  like  it,  was  perhaps  sung 
by  the  Jews  in  the  first  temple,  and  they  may  have 
borrowed  it  from  the  Egyptians.  It  is  of  a  solemn 
and  majestic  strain,  suitable  to  some  of  the  Psalms 
of  David.  It  is  certain  that  the  English  did  not 
invent  or  concoct  the  tunee  to  which  they  sing  the 
words  of  'God  Save  the  Queen/  and  to  which  we 
sing  the  words  of  ' America.'  We  need  not  be 
ashamed  to  use  the  tune  because  it  existed  in  other 
countries  before  we  adopted  it,  or  was  used  by 
generations  that  lived  before  Columbus  discovered 


"MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE."  63 

America,  or  was  known  to  musicians  before  the 
time  of  St.  Ambrose." 

Whatever  may  be  the  history  of  this  tune,  one 
thing  is  strikingly  significant:  "There  certainly 
must  be  something  more  than  ordinarily  inspiring 
in  an  air  which  has  struck  the  popular  heart  of  the 
four  greatest  nations  of  the  earth." 

"My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee"  did  not  have  a 
wide  spread  popularity  until  the  civil  war  began. 
It  was  found  in  a  few  hymn  books,  and  was  sung 
on  stated  occasions,  but  as  a  national  song — as  a 
special  inspirer  of  patriotism — it  did  not  stir  the 
people  in  any  impressive  degree  until  the  flag  was 
shot  down  at  Sumter.  Since  then  it  has  been  used 
more  frequently  than  any  other  of  the  so-called 
national  songs.  It  is  recognized  the  world  over 
as  a  great  national  hymn — beautifully  simple  in 
its  poetry,  rich  in  its  patriotic  sentiment,  and 
vigorous  enough  to  reflect  the  ennobling  spirit  of 
true  American  liberty. 

Dr.  Smith  tells  us:  "I  have  heard  it  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  on  the  Baltic  Sea  and  on  the 
Mediterranean,  in  London,  Liverpool,  Stockholm, 
Copenhagen,  Paris,  Rome,  Naples,  in  the  baths  at 
Pompeii,  in  Athens,  Calcutta  and  Rangoon.  On 
the  earth  I  have  heard  it  on  Pike's  Peak,  and 
under  the  earth  in  the  caverns  at  Manitou, 


64:  STOKIES  OF  GKREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Colorado,  where  it  was  played  on  the  stalactites." 
It  has  been  sung  on  many  a  march,  on  battlefields, 
in  hospitals,  on  days  of  great  rejoicing,  and  on 
days  that  were  dark  and  uncertain  to  those  who 
had  sacrificed  much  that  their  country  might  be- 
come indeed  one  "sweet  land  of  liberty." 

The  song  is  simplicity  itself,  and  yet  it  is  a 
curious  fact  that  others  more  gifted  in  poetic 
faculty,  and  of  greater  minds  than  Dr.  Smith,  have 
tried  their  best  to  make  a  song  which  would  be 
truly  a  national  anthem,  but  no  one  except  this 
plain,  kindly  and  noble-hearted  Baptist  clergyman 
has  come  within  a  thousand  miles  of  success.  He 
alone  has  given  us  "My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee," 
and  it  will  never  be  repeated. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  scenes  ever  wit- 
nessed on  the  Chicago  board  of  trade  was  in  1889, 
when  Dr.  Smith,  stopping  in  the  city  for  a  short 
time,  was  invited  to  visit  that  famous  institution. 
It  was  during  business  hours,  and  when  it  became 
known  that  the  author  of  "America"  was  on 
'Change,  he  was  carried  to  the  pit,  and  hundreds 
of  these  mighty  men  of  trade,  surrounding  him 
with  uncovered  heads,  began  to  sing  "America." 
It  was  a  vast  chorus  of  robust  voices,  and  in  the 
marvelous  delirium  of  the  song  the  enthusiasm 
knew  no  bounds.  The  intensity  of  the  feeling 


"MY  COTJNTKY,  'TIS  OF  THEE/'  65 

produced  by  the  song  could  not  be  adequately 
described,  and  the  scene  was  so  singularly 
impressive  that  one  writer,  borrowing  from 
Shakespeare,  said: 

"If  I  should  live  a  thousand  years 
I  never  should  forget  it." 

"America"  is  so  world-wide  in  its  fame  as  the 
national  hymn  of  a  great,  liberty  loving  people, 
that  a  copy  in  Dr.  Smith's  own  handwriting  was 
requested  by  the  Pope  for  the  Vatican  Library. 
He  acceded  to  the  papal  request,  and  the  copy  was 
presented  to  his  Holiness,  through  David  Pells 
Secor  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  on  New  Year's 
day,  1895,  ten  months  and  a  half  before  the 
doctor's  death. 

The  Kansas  City  Star  gives  an  interesting 
little  story  of  a  tiny  girl  in  that  city  who  was 
returning  home  from  an  all-day  visit  somewhere, 
and  had  taken  a  Westport  car.  Her  lap  was  full 
of  old-fashioned  flowers  which  she  cherished  with 
peculiar  pride. 

Everything  was  of  interest  to  this  small  per- 
son, and  she  bobbled  and  squirmed  about  in  her 
endeavor  to  miss  nothing  that  was  going  on  in  the 
street  or  in  the  car.  After  a  while  she  became 
satisfied  with  the  life  about  her  and  settled  down 
in  quiet  contentment. 


66      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

She  had  not  long  been  thus,  and  the  man  across 
the  aisle  opened  his  paper  and  had  forgotten  her, 
when  she  began  to  sing  softly  to  herself.  At  first 
the  man  couldn't  catch  the  tune,  much  less  the 
words.  So  he  pretended  to  be  interested  in  his 
paper.  Presently  she  grew  bolder,  or  more  forget- 
ful of  her  surroundings,  for  in  a  sweet  little 
treble  came  the  song,  clear  and  bold,  "My 
Country,  'tis  of  Thee.'7  She  was  just  starting  on 
the  verse : 

"My  native  country,  thee, 
Land  of  the  noble  free, 

Thy  name  I  love; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above." 

Then  she  started  on  the  third  verse,  this  time  a 
little  louder.  The  men  all  about  her  dropped  their 
tiresome  discussions  of  the  war  and  business  and 
troubles  and  listened  to  her : 

"Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees, 
Sweet  freedom's  song." 

The  whole  car  was  listening  to  her  now. 
Some  men  smiled,  others  had  moist  eyes,  a  few 
slapped  their  knees  appreciatively  and  muttered, 
"Isn't  that  great  ?" 


"MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE/''  67 

On  she  went  to  the  end,  totally  oblivious  to 
everyone.  Presently  talk  began  again,  and  men 
settled  down  to  ordinary  thoughts,  but  all  through 
them  rang  the  dear  old  tune  of  "America,"  and 
everyone  felt  uplifted  because  a  little  girl  knew  all 
the  words  of  our  national  hymn  and  delighted  to 
sing  them. 

It  is  passing  strange  that  a  national  hymn, 
beautiful  and  animating  in  its  melody  and  simple 
and  inspiring  in  its  poetry,  should  be  so  little 
known  among  the  American  people.  Twelve  or 
thirteen  years  ago,  when  that  magnificent  English 
steamship,  the  City  of  Berlin,  then  commanded 
by  Captain  Watkins,  was  on  a  return  trip  from 
Liverpool,  the  captain  presided  at  an  entertain- 
ment given  by  the  passengers  for  the  benefit  of  the 
seamen's  fund.  One  interesting  feature  of  the 
program  was  the  singing  of  national  songs. 
"God  Save  the  Queen"  was  sung  with  wonderful 
power  and  feeling,  and  then  Captain  Watkins 
suggested  that  "America"  should  be  sung  out  of 
courtesy  to  the  many  well-known  Americans 
aboard.  After  an  outburst  of  applause, 

"My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty," 

rose  in  full  chorus.    But  at  the  close  of  the  fourth 
line  the  words  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  and  when 


68  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

the  end  of  'the  first  verse  was  reached,  only  three 
voices  were  heard,  and  one  of  them  was  the  gallant 
English  captain  bravely  striving  as  best  he  could 
to  sing  what  is  called  our  national  hymn,  which 
the  American  passengers  evidently  could  not  sing. 
In  1889,  The  Christian  Union,  since  changed 
to  The  Outlook,  said  that  if  the  patriotism 
of  the  Americans  is  to  be  measured  by  their 
familiarity  with  the  words  of  our  national 
hymn,  then  some  other  motive  than  "love  of 
country7'  would  save  the  nation  were  its  freedom 
imperiled.  It  then  gave  the  following  striking 
incident :  "On  Decoration  day  about  one  hundred 
women  were  assembled  in  the  parlors  of  one  of  the 
women's  clubs  of  New  York.  The  first  number  on 
the  program  was  the  national  hymn,  to  be  sung  by 
the  audience.  The  first  verse  was  sung,  after  the 
first  two  lines,  with  firmness,  the  interlude  was 
played  and  the  first  chord  to  begin  the  second  verse 
given.  There  was  perfect  silence,  except  from  the 
piano,  which  was  under  the  hands  of  a  master. 
Again  the  chord  was  struck,  when  a  venturesome 
soul  struck  wildly  into  the  first  line  of  the  third 
verse.  Each  woman  gained  courage  and  began 
independently  wherever  she  chanced  to  remember 
a  word,  and  the  verse  was  sung  in  what  was  practi- 
cally Volapiik,  for  each  mumbled  the  words  to 


"MY  COUNTRY,  'TIS  OF  THEE."  69 

hide  her  ignorance  of  what  the  rest  were  singing. 
Imagine  that  happening  to  a  body  of  German 
women!  The  moment  that  soul-stirring  'Watch 
on  the  Rhine'  was  started  it  would  roll  heaven- 
wards, in  sound  if  not  in  music.  The  French 
woman  would  not  hesitate,  but  boldly,  firmly 
would  sing  the  national  hymn,  living  in  imagina- 
tion the  history  of  her  country  as  she  sang  it, 
while  every  form  would  respond  to  the  command, 
'To  victory  or  death' !  and  an  army  of  women 
would  seem  possible.  The  English  woman  would 
sing  her  national  hymn  more  coldly,  perhaps,  but 
would  consider  herself  a  traitor  were  she  not  able 
to  sing  the  praises  of  her  Queen.  What  is  the 
reason  that  an  American  audience  stumbles  and 
mumbles  through  the  national  hymn?  The  first 
verse  can  be  counted  as  familiar,  but  beyond  that 
the  hymn  is  a  failure.  The  intelligence  of  the 
audience  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Is  there  not 
a  moral  force  in  the  sentiment  expressed  in  our 
hymn  that  would  make  us  all  feel  more  strongly 
a  love  of  country  if  we  could,  when  we  come 
together,  form  a  common  bond  of  sympathy,  a 
union  of  voice  and  heart?  Every  American 
woman  should  consider  it  her  duty  to  know  the 
words  of  our  national  hymn,  and  feel  them,  she 
should  consider  it  a  part  of  her  duty  that  every 


70  STOEIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

child  brought  under  her  influence  should  know 
the  words  and  understand  their  meaning." 

The  power  of  patriotic  songs  over  men  who 
have  been  called  to  march  and  fight,  and  suffer 
and  die,  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  Union,  has 
been  pathetically  illustrated  thousands  of  times. 
Among  the  Americans  severely  wounded  in  the 
campaign  before  Santiago,  in  the  war  with  Spain, 
was  Edward  Marshall,  the  young  and  brilliant  cor- 
respondent of  The  New  York  Journal.  While 
lying  in  a  hospital  in  New  York  City,  where  he 
received  treatment  for  his  wounds,  he  dictated  an 
article  for  the  September  number  of  Scribners 
Magazine,  in  which  he  gave  the  following  picture 
in  the  field  hospital  at  Guasimas : 

"There  is  one  incident  which  shines  out  in  my 
memory  above  all  others  as  I  lie  in  a  New  York 
hospital  writing.  It  was  just  after  the  battle  near 
Santiago,  on  the  24th  of  June.  It  was  in  the  field 
hospital,  and  a  continued  chorus  of  moans  rose 
through  the  tree  branches  overhead.  Amputation 
and  death  stared  its  members  in  their  gloomy 
faces.  Suddenly,  a  voice  started  softly: 

"  'My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing.' 


"Others  then  took  up  the  lines : 

"  'Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride — ' 

"The  quivering,  quavering  chorus,  punctuated 
by  groans,  and  made  spasmodic  by  pain,  trembled 
up  from  that  little  group  of  wounded  Americans 
in  the  midst  of  the  Cuban  solitude — the  pluckiest, 
most  heartfelt  song  that  human  beings  ever  sang. 

"But  there  was  one  voice  that  did  not  quite 
keep  up  with  the  others.  It  was  so  weak  that  it 
hardly  could  be  heard  until  all  the  rest  had  fin- 
ished with  the  line : 

"'Let  freedom  ring.' 

"Then  halting,  struggling,  faint,  it  repeated 
slowly : 

"  'Land — of — the — pilgrims' — pride, 
Let  freedom — .' 

"The  last  word  was  a  woeful  cry.  One  more 
son  had  died  as  died  the  fathers." 


NOTE. — Shortly  after  the  Spanish-American  War,  Miss 
Helen  Miller  Gould,  distinguished  for  her  philanthropy  and 
patriotism,  distributed  fifty  thousand  copies  of  "My  Country, 
'tis  of  Thee,"  each  copy  being  embellished  with  a  fine  portrait 
of  Dr.  Smith.  Miss  Gould  says  all  good  Americans  should  be 
familiar  with  the  hymn,  and  she  commends  the  suggestion  of 
having  a  Church  service  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  with  an  appro- 
priate address,  and  the  singing  of  such  songs  as  "America"  and 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 


CHAPTEK  VII. 


"COLUMBIA,  THE  GEM  OF  THE  OCEAN." 


SONG  of  great  merit,  though  infre- 
quently used  compared  with  patriotic 
songs  of  a  later  date,  is  "Columbia, 
the  Gem  of  the  Ocean."  In  Mr.  S.  J. 
Adair  Fitz-Gerald's  "Stories  of  Famous  Songs," 
we  are  told  that  it  was  written  by  Timothy 
Dwight,  an  ancestor  of  the  famous  president  of 
Yale  University.  How  the  author  of  so  excel- 
lent a  book  should  drift  so  far  from  facts  in 
writing  the  story  of  the  song,  is  inexplicable. 
In  a  book  published  many  years  ago,  entitled 
"Airs  of  Many  Lands,"  by  John  Philip  Sousa,  the 
authorship  of  the  song  is  given  to  David  T.  Shaw. 
Mr.  Sousa  also  adds  that  the  music  is  an  old  Eng- 
lish air,  and  the  original  words  began,  "Britannia, 
the  Pride  of  the  Ocean,"  and  that  in  1852  an 
American  version  was  printed,  beginning,  "Col- 
umbia, the  Land  of  the  Brave."  It  is  remarked  by 


"COLUMBIA,  THE  GEM  OF  THE  OCEAN."       73 

musical  critics  that  there  can  be  no  question  as  to 
the  English  origin  of  the  song,  for  it  could  not  pos- 
sibly, they  argue,  have  been  written  for  America. 
"An  island/'  says  the  doughty  Bookbuyer,  "might 
be  called  'the  gem  of  the  ocean,'  but  the  poorest 
poet  that  ever  wrote  would  not  thus  designate  a 
continent." 

The  authorship  of  the  song  has  been  in  dispute 
for  a  long  time,  and  in  many  of  the  music  books 
the  credit  of  writing  it  is  given  to  Mr.  Shaw.  But 
a  little  over  twenty  years  ago  Rear-Admiral 
Preble,  who  was  then  preparing  the  first  edition 
of  "The  Flag  of  the  United  States,"  received  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Thomas  a  Becket,  which  showed 
that  the  name  and  idea  of  "Columbia,  the  Gem  of 
the  Ocean,"  originated  with  David  T.  Shaw,  but 
that  the  words  and  music,  as  printed  and  sung, 
were  written  and  composed  by  Mr.  a  Becket.  As 
the  song  is  entitled  to  a  permanent  place  among 
our  great  national  hymns,  it  is  worthy  of  having 
its  history  correctly  written.  The  letter  from 
Mr.  a  Becket  was  dated  at  Philadelphia,  December 
16,  1876,  and  the  incidents  that  led  up  to  the  mak- 
ing of  "Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean,"  are  as 
follows : 

"In  the  fall  of  1843,  being  then  engaged  as  an 
actor  at  the  Chestnut  Street  Theater  in  this  city, 


STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

I  was  waited  upon  by  Mr.  D.  T.  Shaw  with  the  re- 
quest that  I  would  write  him  a  song  for  his  benefit 
night.  He  produced  some  patriotic  lines,  but  I 
found  them  ungrammatical,  and  so  deficient  in 
measure  as  to  be  totally  unfit  to  be  adapted  to 
music.  We  adjourned  to  the  house  of  a  friend, 
and  I  there  wrote  the  two  first  verses  in  pencil, 
and  composed  the  melody  on  the  piano.  On  reach- 
ing home,  I  added  the  third  verse,  wrote  the  sym- 
phonies and  arrangements,  made  a  fair  copy,  and 
gave  it  to  Mr.  Shaw,  requesting  him  not  to  sell  or 
give  a  copy.  A  few  weeks  later  I  left  for  New 
Orleans,  and  was  much  surprised  to  see  a  pub- 
lished copy,  entitled  'Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the 
Ocean/  written,  composed  and  sung  by  David  T. 
Shaw,  and  arranged  by  T.  a  Becket,  Esq.  On  my 
return  to  Philadelphia,  I  waited  upon  Mr.  Willig, 
the  publisher,  who  told  me  that  he  had  purchased 
the  song  from  Mr.  Shaw.  I  produced  the  original 
copy  in  pencil,  and  claimed  the  copyright,  which 
Mr.  Willig  admitted.  I  then  made  arrangements 
with  Mr.  T.  Osborn  to  publish  the  song  in  partner- 
ship; and  within  a  week  it  appeared  under  its 
proper  title,  'Columbia,  the  Gem  of  the  Ocean,' 
written  and  composed  by  T.  a  Becket,  and  sung 
by  D.  T.  Shaw.  Mr.  E.  L.  Davenport,  the  emi- 
nent actor,  sang  the  song  nightly  in  London  for 


"COLUMBIA,  THE  GEM  OF  THE  OCEAN/''       75 

some  weeks ;  it  became  very  popular,  and  was  pub- 
lished without  authority  there  under  the  title  of 
'Britannia,  the  Gem/  etc.  I  visited  London  in 
1847,  and  found  the  song  claimed  as  an  English 
composition.  (Perhaps  it  is,  I  being  an  English- 
man by  birth. )  During  my  absence  from  America, 
the  land  of  my  adoption,  Osborn  failed  in  busi- 
ness, and  the  plates  of  the  song  were  sold  to  Mr. 
Benteen,  of  Baltimore.  Thus  it  went  out  of  my 
possession,  much  to  my  regret  and  loss." 
The  following  is  the  song  complete : 

O  Columbia,  the  gem  of  the  ocean, 

The  home  of  the  brave  and  the  free; 
The  shrine  of  each  patriot's  devotion 

A  world  offers  homage  to  thee. 
Thy  mandates  make  heroes  assemble 

When  liberty's  form  stands  in  view, 
Thy  banners  make  tyranny  tremble 

When  borne  by  the  red,  white,  and  blue. 

When  borne  by  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 

When  borne  by  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 

Thy  banners  make  tyranny  tremble 

When  borne  by  the  red,  white,  and  blue. 

When  war  winged  its  wide  desolation, 

And  threaten'd  the  land  to  deform, 
The  ark  then  of  freedom's  foundation, 

Columbia  rode  safe  through  the  storm; 
With  her  garlands  of  vict'ry  around  her, 

When  so  proudly  she  bore  her  brave  crew, 


f  6  STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

With  her  flag  proudly  floating  before  her, 
The  boast  of  the  red,  white,  and  blue. 
The  boast  of  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 
The  boast  of  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 

With  her  flag  proudly  floating  before  her, 
The  boast  of  the  red,  white,  and  blue. 

The  wine  cup,  the  wine  cup,  bring  hither, 

And  fill  you  it  true  to  the  brim, 
May  the  wreaths  they  have  won  never  wither, 

Nor  the  star  of  their  glory  grow  dim. 
May  the  service  united  ne'er  sever, 

But  they  to  their  colors  prove  true, 
The  army  and  navy  forever, 
Three  cheers  for  the  red,  white,  and  blue. 
Three  cheers  for  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 
Three  cheers  for  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 

The  army  and  navy  forever, 
Three  cheers  for  the  red,  white,  and  blue, 


JOHN    BROWN. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

THE    FATHERLESS    SONG    OF    JOHN    BROWNS    BODY. 

HEN  the  flag  was  shot  down  at  Sum- 
ter  the  whole  country  quivered  with 
new  emotion.  As  I  have  already  said, 
the  feeling  of  great  numbers  always 
tends  to  utterance  in  song.  The  people  of  the 
North  wanted  to  sing,  but  there  was  no  national 
anthem  which  seemed  to  fit  the  occasion.  The 
great  theme  of  the  war  called  for  a  new  song,  one 
which  would  strike  a  chord  that  had  not  yet  been 
touched.  The  time  had  come  for  fresh  lyrics, 
for  a  new  generation  of  men — some  outburst 
of  a  fiery,  patriotic  sentiment  which  would 
quickly  take  deep  root  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
No  sooner,  therefore,  had  the  belching  guns  at 
Sumter  proclaimed  that  civil  war  was  our  mis- 
fortune, than  there  came  into  being,  as  if  by  magic 
and  inspiration,  a  new,  strange  song,  with  its  weird 
but  enchanting  chorus,  an  outburst  of  the  genius 


78  STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

of  the  nation — the  song  that  kept  in  unison  with 
the  steady  tramp  of  the  armies  on  their  way  to 
fields  of  battle. 

The  John  Brown  song  has  been  called  a  "spon- 
taneous generation  of  the  uprising  of  the  North," 
the  refrain  of  which  became  the  marching  song 
of  the  Union  in  the  very  earliest  months  of  the 
war.  When  the  war  cloud  had  overshadowed  the 
loyal  states,  there  was  started  in  Boston  harbor, 
as  if  it  were  a  bold  and  defiant  reply  to  the  Con- 
federate guns  at  Charleston,  the  song  of  "John 
Brown's  Body;"  and  the  almost  religious  enthusi- 
asm of  the  words  so  blended  with  the  exciting 
tread  of  the  music  as  to  make  it  an  irresistible 
force  in  arousing  a  spirit  of  patriotism  among  the 
soldiers.  It  has  a  grim,  uncouth  melody,  and  a 
commanding  refrain  created,  somehow,  to  enshrine 
the  faith  of  the  loyal  states  and  the  beneficence  to 
humanity  of  the  great  civil  war.  The  late  Richard 
Henry  Dana,  Jr.,  author  of  that  famous  little 
book,  "Two  Years  Before  the  Mast;"  writing  of 
this  nondescript,  fatherless  song,  said:  "It  would 
have  been  past  belief  had  we  been  told  that  the 
almost  undistinguishable  name  of  John  Brown 
should  be  whispered  among  four  million  of  slaves 
and  sung  wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken, 
and  incorporated  into  an  anthem  to  whose  solemn 


JOHN  BROWNS  BODY.  79 

cadences  men  would  march  to  battle  by  tens  of 
thousands." 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  a  war  song  so  gifted 
with  power  for  victory  as  that  of  "John  Brown's 
Body/'  should  have  an  origin  so  disputed  and  in- 
volved. Its  beginning  may  not  extend  into  dim 
antiquity,  like  the  story  of  "Yankee  Doodle/7  but 
there  is  so  much  of  the  unknown  about  both  words 
and  music,  that  historians  have  been  extremely 
perplexed  in  the  effort  to  give  the  public  facts, 
rather  than  legend  and  fiction,  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  song.  Some  writers — and  there  are  no  visible 
reasons  why  their  story  is  not  as  believable  as  that 
of  anybody  else — claim  that  the  music  was 
adapted  and  the  words  paraphrased  from  an  old 
Methodist  camp-meeting  hymn,  which  drew  its 
form  and  tune  in  turn  from  a  domestic  ballad  of 
a  thousand  years  ago,  just  as  Luther,  or,  more 
properly,  William  Franck,  found  "Old  Hundred" 
in  the  ancient  and  simple  home  music  of  the 
peasantry. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  a  long 
discussion  in  the  New  York  and  Boston  papers  as 
to  who  should  be  credited  with  the  authorship  of 
this  famous  song  of  the  Eebellion.  But  the  vol- 
uminous correspondence  did  not  disentangle  his- 
tory from  theory  and  speculation. 


80  STOEIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

When  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  infantry — 
commanded  by  Colonel  Fletcher  Webster,  son  of 
Daniel  Webster — was  stationed  at  Fort  Warren, 
in  Boston  harbor,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  a  quar- 
tette belonging  to  the  Second  battalion  amused 
themselves  by  singing: 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave. 

His  soul  is  marching  on. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah, 
His  soul  is  marching  on." 

This  was  the  only  stanza  known  when  the  quar- 
tette introduced  the  song  at  Fort  Warren.  In  a 
few  weeks  it  developed  into  the  following : 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 

His  soul  is  marching  on. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
His  soul  is  marching  on," 

which  was  adopted  by  the  army  and  became  the 
first  stanza  of  the  great  war  song  which  has  been 
many  times  heard  around  the  world.  The  words 
have  been  attributed  to  Mr.  Charles  S.  Hall,  of 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  and  in  a  letter  to  The  Boston 
Transcript,  in  1874,  he  claims  to  have  written 
most  of  the  stanzas.  Mr.  Hall  also  says  that  the 
music  set  to  the  words  was  found  by  Mr.  James 


JOHN  BKOWN'S  BODY.  81 

E.  Greenleaf,  of  Charlestown,  in  the  archives  of 
the  church  to  which  he  was  organist.  The  words 
of  which  Mr.  Hall  is  said  to  be  the  author,  and 
which  constitute  the  original  John  Brown  song, 
and  adapted  by  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
are  as  follows : 

John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mould'ring  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mould'ring  in  the  grave, 
John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mould'ring  in  the  grave, 

His  soul  is  marching  on! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
His  soul  is  marching  on. 

The  stars  of  heaven  are  looking  kindly  down, 
The  stars  of  heaven  are  looking  kindly  down, 
The  stars  of  heaven  are  looking  kindly  down, 

On  the  grave  of  old  John  Brown! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah,  etc. 

He's  gone  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Lord, 
He's  gone  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Lord, 
He's  gone  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the  Lord, 
His  soul  is  marching  on! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah,  etc. 

John  Brown's  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back, 
John  Brown's  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back, 
John  Brown's  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back, 
His  soul  is  marching  on! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah,  etc. 

The  tune  was  wonderfully  catching,   and  as 
Brander  Matthews  has  said  in  The  Century,  there 


82      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

was  no  lack  of  poets  to  furnish  words  for  the 
music.  Henry  Howard  Brownell,  the  gifted  poet 
of  the  civil  war — the  warm  friend  of  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  and  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes — soon  after 
the  war  broke  out,  wrote  a  poem  of  five  stanzas, 
and  called  it,  "Words  That  Can  Be  Sung  to  the 
'Hallelujah  Chorus/  "  the  first  of  which  was : 

"Old  John  Brown  lies  a-mould'ring  in  the  grave, 
Old  John  Brown  lies  slumbering  in  his  grave — 
But  John  Brown's  soul  is  marching  with  the  brave, 

His  soul  is  marching  on. 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 
His  soul  is  marching  on." 

The  remaining  stanzas  were  so  irregular  in 
meter  that  they  could  not  be  sung  to  the  John 
Brown  tune  without  considerable  patchwork,  and 
the  poem,  though  in  many  respects  meritorious, 
was  never  adopted  by  the  people. 

A  far  better  poem — fine  in  sentiment,  perfect 
in  meter,  and  smooth  in  rhythm — is  that  written 
by  Miss  Edna  D.  Proctor.  With  the  exception  of 
Julia  Ward  Howe's  "Battle  Hymn  of  the  Eepub- 
lic,"  of  which  I  shall  speak  at  length  further  on, 
it  is  the  best  poem  ever  adapted  to  the  John  Brown 
air.  It  was  written  shortly  after  Sumter  fell,  and 
why  it  did  not  become  the  song  of  the  people, 


JOHN  BROWN'S  BODY.  83 

rather  than  the  words  attributed  to  Mr.  Hall,  is 
a  psychological  problem  difficult  to  solve.  The 
words  are  so  worthy  of  being  repeated  that  I  give 
them  in  full : 

John  Brown  died  on  the  scaffold  for  the  slave; 
Dark  was  the  hour  when  we  dug  his  hallowed  grave ; 
Now  God  avenges  the  life  he  gladly  gave, 

Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

John  Brown  sowed,  and  his  harvesters  are  we; 
Honor  to  him  who  has  made  the  bondmen  free; 
Loved  evermore  shall  our  noble  leader  be, 
Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave; 
Bright  o'er  the  sod  let  the  starry  banner  wave; 
Lo!  for  the  million  he  periled  all  to  save, 
Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

John  Brown's  soul  through  the  world  is  marching  on; 
Hail  to  the  hour  when  oppression  shall  be  gone ; 
All  men  will  sing  in  the  better  age's  dawn, 
Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

John  Brown  dwells  where  the  battle  strife  is  o'er; 
Hate  cannot  harm  him,  nor  sorrow  stir  him  more ; 
Earth  will  remember  the  martyrdom  he  bore, 
Freedom  reigns  to-day! 


84      STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave; 
John  Brown  lives  in  the  triumph  of  the  brave; 
John  Brown's  soul  not  a  higher  joy  can  crave, 
Freedom  reigns  to-day! 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  tune,  there  is  a  story 
told  that  in  1856,  one  William  Steffe,  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  had  somewhat  of  a  local  reputation 
as  a  composer  of  light  music,  was  requested  to  fur- 
nish a  fire  company  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  an  air 
to  some  words,  the  chorus  of  which  began — 

"Say,  bummers,  will  you  meet  us?" 

In  response  to  the  wishes  of  the  firemen,  Mr.  Steif e 
composed  the  tune  now  known  as  "John  Brown." 
The  happy  mingling  of  the  words  and  music  made 
the  song  very  popular,  and  finally  the  tune  was 
taken  up  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion in  the  East,  and  set  to  the  words  well  known 
forty  years  ago — 

"Say,  brothers,  will  you  meet  us, 
Say,  brothers,  will  you  meet  us, 
Say,  brothers,  will  you  meet  us, 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore? 
By  the  grace  of  God  we'll  meet  you, 
By  the  grace  of  God  we'll  meet  you, 
By  the  grace  of  God  we'll  meet  you, 
Where  parting  is  no  more." 

This  hymn  is  found  in  the  supplement  to  The 
Plymouth  Collection,  compiled  by  Henry  Ward 


JOHN  BROWN'S  BODY.  85 

Beecher,  and  printed  at  some  period  between  1855 
and  1860;  and  a  correspondent  in  The  Boston 
Journal,  in  1874,  says  the  tune,  with  only  a  few 
changes,  was  used  by  the  Millerites  in  1834  to  the 
words — 

"We'll  see  the  angels  coming 

Through  the  old  church  yards, 
Shouting  through  the  air 
Glory,  glory,  hallelujah." 

It  seems  that  the  tune  was  quite  well  known 
among  the  negroes  of  the  South  during  the  civil 
war.  Lieutenant  Chandler,  writing  on  Sherman's 
march  to  the  sea,  says  that  when  a  halt  was  made 
at  Shady  Dale,  in  Georgia,  the  band  struck  up 
"John  Brown's  Body,"  when,  to  the  amusement 
and  surprise  of  the  soldiers,  a  number  of  negro 
girls  came  out  from  the  houses,  which  were  sup- 
posed to  be  deserted,  and,  forming  in  a  circle 
around  the  band,  danced  in  perfect  time,  and  in  a 
grave  and  dignified  manner,  as  if  influenced  by 
some  magical  or  religious  ceremony.  When  the 
tune  had  ceased,  the  girls  quietly  returned  to  their 
cabins  without  a  smile  on  their  faces  to  disturb 
the  gravity  of  their  deportment ;  and  no  other  tune 
the  band  might  play  could  induce  them  to  dance. 
It  was  learned  from  the  old  negroes  that  the  air 
was  known  among  them  as  the  "wedding  tune/7 


86  STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

that  it  had  no  connection  with  any  hymn  or  song, 
and  that  the  colored  girls  were  taught  that  they 
must  dance  whenever  they  heard  it  played,  or  they 
would  never  be  married.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  it  is  one  of  those  strange  voodoo  airs,  so  mys- 
terious in  their  origin  as  to  baffle  historians. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that  the 
tune  of  "John  Brown"  was  known  in  Boston  some 
time  before  it  was  sung  at  Fort  Warren.  The  most 
significant  event  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
Rebellion,  one  which  sent  a  wave  of  excitement 
over  the  entire  North,  was  the  hanging  of  John 
Brown  on  the  2d  of  December,  1859.  The  feeli-ng 
which  that  execution  roused  in  Massachusetts 
found  relief  in  a  monstrous  mass  meeting  held  at 
Faneuil  hall.  John  A.  Andrew,  a  man  whose  phil- 
anthropy and  loyalty  will  long  enrich  the  pages 
of  American  history,  was  at  the  time  governor  of 
the  state.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  that  memo- 
rable meeting,  and  on  that  night  vast  crowds  of 
young  men  and  boys  marched  through  the  streets 
of  Boston,  singing,  in  contempt  of  the  governor 
and  of  the  great  gathering,  the  improvised  words 

to  the  "John  Brown"  air — 

"Tell  John  Andrew  that  John  Brown  is  dead, 
Tell  John  Andrew  that  John  Brown  is  dead, 
Tell  John  Andrew  that  John  Brown  is  dead, 
And  salt  won't  save  him  now." 


JOHN  BKOWN'S  BODY.  87 

The  "John  Brown'7  song  as  used  in  the  army 
was  first  sung  by  Webster's  famous  regiment  in 
Boston  on  the  18th  of  July,  1861,  with  one  thou- 
sand and  forty  voices  on  the  chorus.  The  occa- 
sion was  the  presentation  of  a  flag  to  the  regiment 
by  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett.  A  few  days  later 
the  Twelfth  started  for  the  front,  and  on  its  way 
electrified  New  York  with  the  song;  three  days 
afterwrards  it  startled  Baltimore;  and  another  ex- 
ample of  the  terrible  sarcasm  of  fate  was  witnessed 
when  the  regiment,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1862, 
formed  a  hollow  square  around  the  very  spot  on 
which  John  Brown  was  executed  at  Charlestown, 
Va.,  and  these  "Websters"  sang  with  a  power  and 
feeling  never  heard  before — 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave, 
His  soul  is  marching  on." 

The  Twelfth  Massachusetts,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Webster,  had  made  the  song  of  "John 
Brown"  popular  in  the  army.  They  always  sang 
it  with  mighty  unction.  The  colonel  was  killed 
in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Kun,  August  30,  1862, 
and  there  is  pathos  in  the  story  that  after  the 
tragedy  of  that  day  the  regiment  never  again  sang 
of  "Old  John  Brown."  In  July,  1864,  the  term 
of  enlistment  expired,  and  the  Twelfth  returned 


88     STOEIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

to  Boston.  It  left  the  city  three  years  before  with 
a  numerical  strength  of  one  thousand  and  forty, 
but  the  waste  of  disease,  and  the  shot  and  shell  of 
many  battles  made  frightful  mortality  among  the 
men ;  and  the  sad  remnant  of  the  once  famous  regi- 
ment made  the  homeward  march  through  the 
streets  of  Boston  with  only  eighty-five  men.  The 
colors  were  tattered,  the  boys  stood  in  mournful 
evidence  of  hard  service,  and  while  they  received 
a  royal  welcome  by  a  vast,  patriotic  multitude,  and 
shout  after  shout  went  up  for  "John  Brown's 
Body,"  these  brave  heroes,  silently,  but  with  a  sol- 
dierly tread,  marched  to  the  barracks,  and  the 
"Websters,"  having  finished  their  work,  "passed 
into  history." 

Mr.  Brander  Matthews  is  authority  for  the 
story  that  after  the  performance  of  that  great 
chorus,  "Glory  to  God  on  High,"  from  Mozart's 
Twelfth  Mass,  on  the  first  day  of  the  Boston  Peace 
Jubilee,  an  old  soldier  of  the  Webster  regiment 
took  occasion  to  shake  hands  with  Mr.  Gilmore, 
and  to  tender  his  congratulations  on  the  success  of 
the  undertaking,  remarking  that  for  his  part  what 
he  liked  best  was  the  piece  called  the  "Twelfth 
Massachusetts." 

The  song  of  "John  Brown's  Body"  was  indeed 
a  blast  of  triumph.  The  massive  simplicity  of  the 


JOHN  BROWN'S  BODY.  89 

tune  stirred  the  blood  of  the  people  like  a  blare  of 
a  trumpet.  When  Webster's  regiment  marched 
down  Broadway,  New  York,  July  24,  1861,  on 
their  way  to  battle  and  victory,  singing  "Old  John 
Brown"  as  a  marching  song,  the  scene  was  soul- 
stirring  surpassing  description.  The  effect  was 
supreme.  All  over  the  North,  in  all  Federal 
camps,  the  refrain,  with  its  "majestic  plainness  in 
the  rythm  like  the  beating  of  mighty  hammers," 
spread  as  if  by  enchantment,  and  it  became  the 
battle-cry  of  hundreds  of  thousands  and  the  Mar- 
seillaise of  Emancipation. 

Many  songs  may  come  and  go  with  the  occa- 
sions that  produce  them,  but  "Old  John  Brown" 
will  remain.  Travelers  say  that  they  have  heard 
it  among  the  common  people  of  almost  every  clime 
on  earth,  in  regions  where  newspapers  never  go, 
and  where  the  story  of  John  Brown's  martyrdom 
could  find  its  way  only  by  some  sort  of  special 
providence.  It  is  not  a  meritorious  song  in  point 
of  construction,  but  it  is  strangely  effective,  and 
the  explanation  is  that  back  of  the  song  lies  the 
sublime  truth  that  the  man  whom  it  celebrates  died 
for  men,  and  immortalized  his  name  by  perform- 
ing, as  he  saw  it,  a  service  for  human  liberty. 
"His  soul  is  marching  on."  "In  that  solemn  and 
•ignificant  refrain  is  the  whole  story;  and  it  is  a 


90  STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

story  that  touches  the  human  heart  wherever  there 
is  love  of  right,  of  justice  and  of  goodness." 

The  song  has  been  a  marvelous  inspiration,  and 
among  the  many  thrilling  experiences  with  which 
it  has  been  associated,  none  has  been  more  striking 
than  that  related  by  Admiral  Schley  in  describing 
the  destruction  of  Cervera's  fleet  off  Santiago,  on 
Sunday,  July  3,  1898.  Speaking  of  the  men  be- 
hind the  guns,  "those  noble,  silent,  effective  work- 
ers"— the  firemen  and  coal-heavers — he  tells  of 
their  singing  "John  Brown's  Body"  with  wonder- 
ful meaning  as  they  shoveled  coal  in  the  great  fur- 
naces that  carried  the  flagship  Brooklyn  to  such  a 
splendid  victory. 

John  Habberton,  the  author  of  that  popular 
book,  "Helen's  Babies" — "embracing  the  record 
for  a  single  day  of  the  doings  of  a  brace  of  boys 
of  whom  the  author  is  half  owner" — gives  his  im- 
pression of  this  song:  "It  has  wonderful  influ- 
ence over  me.  I  heard  it  in  western  camp  meet- 
ings and  negro  cabins  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  saw 
the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  march  down  Broadway, 
singing  the  same  air  during  a  rush  to  the  front  in 
the  early  days  of  the  war.  I  heard  it  sung  by 
warrior  tongues  in  nearly  every  Southern  state; 
my  old  brigade  sung  it  softly,  but  with  a  swing 
that  was  terrible  in  its  earnestness,  as  they  lay 


JOHN  BROWNS  BODY.  91 

behind  their  stacks  of  arms,  just  before  going  into 
action.  I  have  heard  it  played  over  the  graves 
of  many  dead  comrades,  the  semi-mutinous — the 
cavalry  became  peaceful  and  patriotic  again  as 
their  bandmaster  played  the  old  air,  after  having 
asked  permission  to  try  his  hand  on  them ;  it  is  the 
tune  that  burst  forth  spontaneously  in  our 
barracks  on  that  glorious  morning  when  we  learned 
that  the  war  was  over,  and  it  was  sung  with  words 
adapted  to  the  occasion  by  some  rebel  friends  of 
mine  on  our  first  social  meeting  after  the  war." 

On  the  16th  of  November,  1864,  General 
Sherman's  magnificent  army  of  55,300  men  began 
the  famous  march  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea.  Be- 
hind this  splendidly  organized  army,  which 
had  won  so  many  brilliant  victories,  lay 
Atlanta,  "smouldering  and  in  ruins,  the  black 
smoke  rising  high  in  the  air  and  hanging 
like  a  pall  over  the  ill-fated  city."  When 
the  Fourteenth  corps,  on  the  right  of  the  left 
wing,  moved  quickly  in  the  grand  column,  one 
of  the  bands  struck  up  "John  Brown's  Body." 
The  men  caught  up  the  refrain — "Glory,  glory, 
hallelujah," — and  it  is  doubtful  if  at  any  other 
time  during  the  civil  war,  or  on  any  occasion  since, 
the  simple  but  significant  words  were  sung  with 
bolder  spirit  or  with  mightier  meaning  than  on  the 


92     STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

beginning  of  the  march  that  has  been  immortal- 
ized in  song  and  story.  General  Sherman  after- 
wards said  that  the  incident  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  ilustrations  of  the  influence  of  song 
he  had  ever  known. 

This,  in  part,  is  the  story  of  one  of  the  most 
mystical  songs  of  any  country  or  age.  Why,  "the 
undistinguishable  name  of  John  Brown  should 
have  been  whispered  by  four  million  slaves,  and 
sung  wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken,  or 
incorporated  into  an  anthem"  that  thrilled  great 
armies  with  delight  and  inspiration,  will  remain 
in  the  realm  of  mystery. 


NOTE. — Since  the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  put  to  press, 
I  see  that  John  S.  Wise  (whose  father  was  Governor  of  Virginia 
at  the  time  John  Brown  was  hanged),  says  in  his  volume,  The 
End  of  an  Era,  p.  136:  "The  solemn  swell  of  John  Brown's 
Body,  as  sung  by  the  Federal  troops,  is  only  an  adaptation  of  a 
favorite  camp-meeting  hymn  which  I  often  heard  the  negroes 
sing  as  they  worked  in  the  fields,  long  before  the  days  of  John 
Brown.  The  old  words  were : 

'My  poor  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  clay, 
'My  poor  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  clay, 
'My  poor  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  clay, 

While  my  soul  goes  marching  on.' 
"Refrain : — 'Glory,  glory,  hallelujah,  etc., 

As  my  soul  goes  marching  on.'  " 


•  - 


GEORGE    F.    ROOT 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

GEORGE  F.  ROOT  AND  HIS  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM. 

T  is  to  the  honor  of  this  sweet  land 
of  liberty  that  it  has  reared  up  men 
adequate  to  every  crisis,  however 
great.  When  a  soldier  was  needed  to 
fight  a  trying  war,  and  a  statesman  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  a  Republic,  Washington — the  im- 
perial character — heeded  the  stern  voice  of  duty 
arid  wrested  victory  from  the  most  powerful  nation 
on  earth. 

When  America  called  for  orators  to  defend  the 
constitution  and  plead  the  cause  of  human  liberty, 
there  rang  out  the  clarion-like  voices  of  Webster, 
Clay,  Wendell  Phillips,  Garfield,  and  Beecher. 

When  rebellion  threatened  the  life  of  the  na- 
tion and  the  political  sky  was  red  with  passion, 
and  a  patriot  and  a  genius  was  wanted  to  lead  a 
brave  people  through  the  storm  of  war  and  clouds 
of  uncertainty,  a  product  of  hardship  and  toil  at 
once  stood  before  the  gaze  of  the  civilized  world — 


94  STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

a  man  ever  righteous  in  purpose,  amazing  in  wis- 
dom, glorious  in  his  human-ness  of  nature,  sublime 
in  his  faith  in  men — Lincoln,  the  loftiest  type  of 
American  civilization. 

When  the  call  went  forth  for  men  to  save  the 
country  and  its  flag,  in  quick  response  came  the 
sturdy  warrior  Sherman,  and  the  fighting  Sheri- 
dan; and  there  came  from  poverty  and  obscurity 
a  man  of  indomitable  energy,  silent  in  words,  but 
marvelous  in  execution,  supreme  in  every  supreme 
moment,  as  modest  as  a  maiden  but  greater  than 
the  Caesars — General  Grant,  who,  measured  by 
what  he  did,  was  the  greatest  commander  that  ever 
led  an  army  to  victory. 

When  the  grand  army  of  volunteers  rallied  for 
liberty  and  the  Union,  and  the  homes  of  the  people 
and  the  boys  in  battle  called  for  songs  of  hope 
which  should  make  every  chord  of  the  soul  vibrate 
and  give  promise  of  victory,  among  Fortune's  best 
gifts  were  George  F.  Root,  Henry  C.  Work,  and 
Julia  WTard  Howe — the  great  patriotic  singers  of 
the  century. 

There  has  never  been  an  emergency  without  a 
man  or  woman  to  meet  it.  And  it  has  been  said 
that  "God  chooses  His  own  instruments  for  the 
development  of  the  Divine  problem,  and  while  men 
may  come  and  go,  and  try  and  fail,  the  right  man 


"THE  BATTLE  GEY  OF  FREEDOM."  95 

to  perform  the  right  service  is  always  certain  to 
appear  at  the  right  time."  This  truth  has  been 
demonstrated  in  every  trying  crisis  in  our  national 
history  from  Washington  in  the  Revolution  to 
McKinley  at  the  White  House,  Dewey  at  Manila 
and  Schley  at  Santiago.  And  when  President 
Lincoln  issued  his  second  call  for  troops  in  the 
summer  of  1861,  the  emergency  had  come  when 
the  Union  army  needed  a  battle  cry  of  freedom, 
and  George  F.  Eoot,  living  in  Chicago,  was  deeply 
impressed  with  the  mighty  significance  of  the  proc- 
lamation, and  one  afternoon  he  caught  the  spirit 
of  the  hour  and  there  began  to  evolve  in  his  mind 
the  sentiment  of  a  rallying  song,  and  in  an  out- 
burst of  patriotic  fervor  there  came  the  words  and 
music  of  that  soul-stirring  and  pulse-quickening 
battle  hymn: 

Yes,  we'll  rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

We'll  rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom. 
We  will  rally  from  the  hillside, 

We  will  rally  from  the  plain, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom. 

CHOEUS. 

The  Union  forever!     Hurrah,  boys,  hurrah! 
Down  with  the  traitors,  up  with  the  stars, 
While  we  rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

Rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom, 


96  STOEIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

We  are  springing  to  the  call 

Of  our  brothers  gone  before, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom, 
And  we'll  fill  the  vacant  ranks 

With  a  million  freemen  more, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom. 

We  will  welcome  to  our  numbers 

The  loyal,  true  and  brave, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom, 
And  altho'  they  may  be  poor, 

Not  a  man  shall  be  a  slave, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom. 

So  we're  springing  to  the  call 

From  the  East  and  from  the  West, 

Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom, 

And  we'll  hurl  the  rebel  crew 
From  the  land  we  love  the  best, 

Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom. 

The  next  evening,  says  Mr.  Root  in  his  in- 
teresting "Story  of  a  Musical  Life,"  the  famous 
Lubard  brothers — Jules  and  Frank,  the  great 
singers  of  the  war — were  to  sing  at  a  meeting  to 
be  held  in  the  Chicago  Court  House  square.  Mr. 
Root  gave  them  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom." 
The  magnificent  voices  of  the  brothers  were  elec- 
trifying; and  in  trumpet-like  tones  the  refrain — 
"The  Union  forever!  Hurrah,  boys,  hurrah!" 

spread  as  if  impelled  by  some  magnetic  influence, 
and  almost  instantly  the  grand  chorus  rose  in 
mighty  music  from  the  vast  multitude,  The  song 


"THE  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM."  97 

struck  fire,  and  leaped  into  widespread  popularity 
and  usefulness.  Only  a  few  days  after  the  song 
was  written  a  monstrous  war-meeting  was  held  in 
Union  Square,  New  York.  The  excitement  ran 
high,  and  the  emotion  was  intense.  The  Hutchin- 
son  family  sang  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom." 
The  immense  throng  of  listeners  were  aroused  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  exaltation  of  soul.  The  song 
was  sung  again  and  again,  and  the  great  audience 
caught  up  the  refrain,  and  it  proved  a  resistless 
force  in  swelling  the  ranks  of  the  army.  ~No  other 
war  song  was  sung  with  bolder  patriotism  or  with 
a  more  triumphant  passion  of  the  soul.  It  seemed 
to  mount  up  as  if  on  the  wings  of  magic,  and  was 
carried  over  all  the  North,  and  into  all  camps 
where  the  Stars  and  Stripes  floated.  It  was  often 
ordered  to  be  sung  as  the  men  marched  into  action ; 
and  more  than  once  its  strains  rose  on  the  battle- 
field to  stimulate  courage. 

There  is  a  stirring  illustration  of  how  this  song 
saved  a  battle,  which  I  find  in  Brainard's  "Our 
War  Songs,  North  and  South."  During  the  ter- 
rible battle  of  the  Wilderness  on  the  6th  of  May, 
1864,  a  brigade  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps,  having 
broken  the  enemy's  line  by  an  assault,  became  ex- 
posed to  a  flank  attack,  and  with  heavy  loss  were 
driven  back  in  disorder.  They  retreated  but  a 


98  STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

few  hundred  yards,  however,  when  they  re-formed, 
and  again  confronted  the  enemy.  Just  then  some 
gallant  fellow — an  unknown  hero — in  the  Forty- 
fifth  Pennsylvania,  with  a  head  filled  with  sense 
and  a  heart  full  of  courage  and  song,  began  to  sing : 

"We'll   rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

Rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom." 

The  refrain  was  caught  up  by  the  entire  regi- 
ment, and  also  by  the  regiment  next  in  line.  The 
air  was  filled  with  the  crackle  and  smoke  of  the 
burning  underbrush;  the  pitiful  cries  of  the 
wounded,  the  rattle  of  musketry,  and  the  wild 
shouts  of  command,  gave  intense  excitement  to  the 
scene ;  but  above  all,  answering  the  exalted  yell  of 
the  enemy,  rose  supreme  the  inspiring  chorus — 

"The  Union  forever!    Hurrah,  boys,  hurrah! 

Down  with  the  traitors,  up  with  the  stars, 

And  we'll  rally  round  the  flag,  boys, 

Rally  once  again, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom." 

What  an  impressive  example  of  the  power  of 
patriotic  song  in  evoking  from  men,  when  charg- 
ing in  the  very  jaws  of  death,  a  resolute  and  a  sing- 
ing spirit ! 

There  is  an  influence  beautiful  and  marvelous 
in  these  songs  of  soul  and  war.  Dr.  H.  H.  Bel- 
field,  formerly  adjutant  of  a  regiment  of  Iowa 


BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM."  99 


cavalry,  and  afterwards  principal  of  the  Chicago 
Manual  Training  School,  relates  an  incident  in 
Dr.  Boot's  "Story  of  a  Musical  Life/'  which, 
briefly  told,  is  that  on  the  last  day  of  July,  in  1864, 
some  of  our  prisoners  of  war  were  taken  to  New- 
man, Ga.  The  flag  under  which  they  had  been 
fighting  had  gone  down  in  blood  and  death.  The 
Confederate  flag  was  flying  in  temporary  triumph 
over  this  small  company  of  Union  soldiers  who, 
having  obeyed  orders  they  well  knew  would  sacri- 
fice themselves,  had  saved  hundreds  of  their 
comrades,  and  now  were  prisoners  of  war.  They 
were  hungry,  ragged,  tired  out,  defeated,  but  full 
of  hope  and  song.  When  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  gathered  about  this  little  band  of  prisoners, 
curious  to  know  what  the  Yankee  soldier  looked 
like,  the  brave,  patriotic  boys  sang  "Rally  Round 
the  Flag."  It  might  seem  foolhardy  to  rouse  the 
Confederate  town  with  such  a  song,  but  the  people 
received  it  kindly,  however,  and  called  for  more 
songs  ;  but  the  poor  fellows  had  had  no  food  for  a 
whole  day  and  begged  for  something  to  eat.  Food 
was  brought  them,  and  the  prisoners  repaid  the 
kindness  by  singing  more  of  the  battle  songs  of 
the  Union,  which  finally  found  expression  in 
cheers  of  good  will. 

Only  those  who  were  at  the  front,  marching 


100    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

and  battling  for  the  flag  and  enduring  all  the  hard- 
ships of  an  active  army  life  and  entering  into  all 
the  painful  uncertainties  of  war,  can  fully  realize 
how  often  the  soldiers  were  cheered  and  inspired 
by  the  words  and  tunes  of  patriotic  zeal. 

In  the  battle  of  Nashville  a  soldier  was  severely 
wounded,  and  in  the  hospital,  when  he  had  come 
from  under  the  influence  of  chloroform,  he  felt 
that  his  right  arm  was  gone.  He  asked  that  it  be 
brought  to  him  that  he  might  see  it  once  more. 
Taking  the  cold  fingers  in  his  left  hand,  he  said, 
"Good-bye,  old  arm ;  we  have  been  a  long  time  to- 
gether; we  must  now  part.  You  will  never  fire 
another  carbine  or  swing  another  saber  for  the 
government.  Good-bye."  Great  tears  rolled  down 
his  cheeks  as  the  shattered  arm  was  taken  from  his 
sight.  He  called  for  one  of  the  songs  of  the  Union, 
and  inspired  by  the  music  of  patriotism,  he  said, 
"Don't  misunderstand  me,  doctor;  I  don't  regret 
the  arm  is  lost.  I  would  rather  have  it  torn  from 
my  body  than  that  a  single  star  should  be  taken 
from  the  flag." 

I  do  not  think  that  we  shall  know,  this  side  of 
eternity,  how  important  the  helpfulness  and  how 
enduring  the  influence  of  these  songs  of  war  were. 
A  few  years  ago  in  a  story,  that  has  now  become 
quite  familiar,  written  by  Richard  W.  Browne  for 


"THE  BATTLE  CEY  6*F  FREEDOM."         101 

The  Century  Magazine,  he  says  that  shortly  after 
Lee's  surrender,  a  number  of  Union  officers  as- 
sembled in  Richmond  one  evening  and  sang  some 
favorite  college  songs.  Directly  across  the  street 
was  a  house  occupied  by  some  Confederate  officers, 
and  being  so  near  by,  the  Union  men  deemed  it 
improper  to  sing  army  songs,  as  they  did  not  wish 
to  lacerate  the  feelings  of  a  fallen  foe.  But  after 
several  beautiful  college  pieces  had  been  sung,  the 
lady  of  the  house  where  the  Federals  were  stop- 
ping handed  one  of  them  a  note  which  came  from 
the  Confederate  officers.  It. was  a  gracious  request 
that  permission  might  be  granted  them  to  go  over 
and  hear  the  Union  men  sing.  Of  course,  consent 
was  gladly  given,  and  the  boys  again  sang  some  of 
their  glee  songs.  But  one  of  the  Confederate  offi- 
cers said  in  a  kind  tone:  "Gentlemen,  you  sing 
delightfully ;  but  what  we  want  to  hear  now  are 
some  of  your  army  songs."  Then  they  sang  with 
force  and  zeal,  "Marching  Through  Georgia," 
"John  Brown's  Body,"  "Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp, 
the  Boys  are  Marching,"  "Rally  Round  the  Flag," 
and  finally  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  And 
even  some  of  the  Confederate  feet  were  inspired 
to  beat  time  to  these  grand  songs,  as  if  they  had 
never  stepped  to  any  but  the  "music  of  the  Union." 
After  the  applause  had  subsided,  one  of  the 


102          STORIES  OF  GliEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Confederate  officers  exclaimed,  "I  tell  you,  gentle- 
men, if  we'd  had  your  songs,  we'd  have  whipped 
you  out  of  your  boots.  Who  couldn't  have  marched 
and  fought  with  such  songs  as  yours  ?  We  had 
nothing  but  a  bastard  'Marseillaise,'  'Bonny  Blue 
Flag,'  'Dixie,'  which  are  nothing  but  jigs,  and 
'Maryland,  My  Maryland,'  the  tune  of  which  is 
no  more  inspiring  than  the  'Dead  March  in  Saul,' 
while  your  Yankee  songs  are  full  of  marching  and 
figthing." 

There  is  great  force  in  the  remark  of  the  Con- 
federate officer  as  to  the  marching  and  fighting 
power  of  the  "Yankee"  war  songs.  The  songs  of 
the  Union  were  songs  of  unquenchable  patriotism ; 
and  evoked  all  the  noble  emotions  in  the  soldier 
and  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  mirth  and  hope. 

The  best  natured  soldiers  on  earth  are  those 
who  march  under  the  folds  of  "Old  Glory."  Mr. 
Brander  Matthews,  in  The  Century  Magazine,, 
says  the  Federal  soldier  never  allowed  pleasant 
humor  to  desert  him ;  and  in  the  hard  tussle  of  the 
civil  war,  when  roads  were  muddy,  marching 
heavy,  and  the  hardtack  scarce,  and  tough  enough 
to  be  marked  B.  C.,  how  often  the  gentle  lines  of 
"Mary  Had  a  Little  Lamb"  were  snugly  fitted  to 
the  tune  of  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  and 


"THE  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM."         103 

many  a  regiment  shortened  a  weary  march,  or 
made  a  dull  camp  gladsome  by  singing — 

"Mary  had  a  little  lamb, 

Its  fleece  was  white  as  snow, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom; 
And  everywhere  that  Mary  went, 

The  lamb  was  sure  to  go, 
Shouting  the  battle  cry  of  freedom." 

As  a  piece  of  poetry,  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Free- 
dom77 may  not  have  great  merit,  but  as  an  expres- 
sion of  patriotism  it  is  beyond  all  price.  It  is 
great  enough  to  gain  enduring  fame  as  a  battle 
song;  great  enough  for  volunteers  to  sing  on 
their  marches  from  home  in  defense  of  the 
Union ;  great  enough  to  be  on  their  lips  on 
going  into  battle;  great  enough  to  be  associated 
with  all  the  fierce  struggles  of  the  civil  war; 
and  great  enough  to  be  sung  by  ten  thousand 
manly  voices  in  a  national  convention  that  it 
might  rouse  enthusiasm  for  the  peerless  soldier  of 
history. 

The  late  Charles  A.  Dana,  editor  of  the  'New 
York  Sun,  and  assistant  Secretary  of  War  during 
the  Rebellion,  said,  a  short  time  before  his  death, 
in  October,  1897,  that  Dr.  Root  did  more  to  pre- 
serve the  Union  than  a  great  many  brigadier-gen- 
erals, and  quite  as  much  as  some  brigades.  The 
editor  of  The  Musical  Visitor,  Mr.  Murray,  says 


104          STORIES  OF  GKREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

he  heard  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom"  sung  in  the 
outer  line  of  intrenchments  before  Petersburg, 
within  talking  distance  of  the  Confederate  line  of 
battle,  the  men  voicing  the  lines  of  the  song  with 
remarkable  enthusiasm  when  they  knew  full  well 
that  the  very  next  minute  "they  might  have  to  give 
their  lives  for  the  Union  they  were  fighting  to 
maintain." 

Among  many  incidents  connected  with  Dr. 
Boot's  war  songs,  the  one  which  touched  him  most 
deeply  is  related  in  his  delightful  "Story  of  a 
Musical  Life."  An  Iowa  regiment  went  in  one 
of  the  charges  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  eight 
hundred  strong,  and  came  out  with  a  terrible  loss 
of  more  than  half  their  number.  But  the  remnant 
of  the  regiment  left  the  battlefield  waving  their 
torn  and  powder-stained  flag,  singing — 

"Yes,  we'll  rally  round  the  flag,  boys." 

Years  after  the  war,  the  doctor  held  a  musical 
convention  in  Anamosa,  Iowa,  and  one  evening  he 
received  a  note,  saying,  "If  the  author  of  the  'Bat- 
tle Cry  of  Freedom'  would  sing  that  song  it  would 
gratify  many  soldiers  in  the  audience  who  used  to 
sing  it  in  the  army."  Before  singing  the  song, 
Dr.  Root  related  an  incident  of  the  charge  of  the 
Iowa  regiment,  when  some  one  shouted,  "Here  is 


"THE  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM."         105 

a  soldier  who  lost  an  arm  in  that  charge."  And 
at  the  doctor's  request  the  veteran  went  forward 
and  stood  upon  the  platform  while  the  song  was 
being  sung.  He  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  and 
the  mournful  eloquence  of  the  empty  sleeve,  and 
the  soul-thrilling  lines  of  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Free- 
dom," as  sung  by  Dr.  Root,  brought  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  almost  the  entire  audience. 

Dr.  Root  was  born  in  Sheffield,  Mass.,  in  1820. 
He  came  into  the  world  with  music  in  his  soul. 
The  dream  of  his  life  was  to  be  a  musician.  In 
1858  he  started  a  music  business  in  Chicago.  He 
had  composed  that  beautiful  tune,  "Shining 
Shore,"  and  several  other  well-known  tunes  and 
anthems  prior  to  that  time.  His  first  war  song 
was  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  the  authorship 
of  which  is  fame  enough  for  any  one  man.  He 
died  August  7,  1895. 

Dr.  Root  played  an  important  part  in  the  war 
for  the  Union.  His  songs  were  a  great  force 
in  the  homes  as  well  as  in  the  field.  They  were 
the  most  eloquent  appeals  for  enlistments.  They 
touched  the  chords  of  patriotism  as  they  had  never 
been  touched  before.  They  became  the  ruling 
sentiment  of  the  American  people,  and  millions 
rallied  round  the  flag.  Dr.  Root  had  a  greater 
influence  during  the  dark  days  of  the  war  than 


106          STOK1ES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

many  men  who  happened  to  have  their  names 
written  among  immortal  heroes.  His  influence 
through  his  songs  was  immeasurable  in  a  special 
time  of  need,  and  will  still  live,  and  while  coming 
generations  "will  not  forget  the  song/'  they  cannot 
forget  the  singer. 

On  the  afternoon  of  July  4,  1896,  a  vast  audi- 
ence of  ten  thousand  assembled  at  the  Coliseum  in 
Chicago,  the  occasion  being  a  war  song  festival  for 
the  benefit  of  the  George  F.  Eoot  monument  fund. 
It  was  a  great  day  for  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Free- 
dom." Chicago's  greatest  singers  took  the  solos, 
and  one  thousand  children  sang  in  the  choruses. 
Mr.  Jules  Lumbard,  the  white-haired  veteran,  who 
was  first  to  sing  that  famous  battle  hymn  thirty- 
five  years  before,  sang  it  at  the  Coliseum,  and 
every  soul  was  thrilled  by  its  new-born  power. 
Luther  Laflin  Mills,  that  superb  orator,  delivered 
the  oration,  and  one  quotation  therefrom  will  close 
this  chapter  on  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom" : 

"The  story  of  the  war  songs  of  Root  is  the  story 
of  the  songs  of  every  people.  Cradle  songs  become 
crystallized  in  human  character;  home  songs  run- 
ning through  the  memories  of  men  are  the  thread 
of  gold  which  binds  them  to  purity,  and  sacred 
hymns  once  learned  in  childhood,  and  arousing  the 
dullest  ears  in  after  years,  are  a  constant  link  be- 


JULES  LUMBARD, 
THE    FIRST    SINGER    OF    "THE    BATTLE    CRY    OF    FREEDOM. 


"THE  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM.*'         107 

tween  God  and  man.  Songs  are  easy  sermons. 
Their  power  abides.  The  songs  of  George  F.  Root 
abide,  and  will  remain  in  the  memories  and  voices 
of  our  people,  not  only  as  reminders  of  the  nation's 
heroic  struggle  for  self-preservation,  but  as  a  con- 
stant, inspiring,  and  educating  force  in  maintain- 
ing and  strengthening  the  lofty  sentiment  of 
American  patriotism." 


X. 


"THE  BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC." 


HEN  the  civil  war  broke  out  there 
was  no  great  national  hymn,  gener- 
ally accepted  as  such.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  not  one  in  a  thousand  could 
sing  from  memory  either  "The  Star  Spangled 
Banner/'  or  that  ever  beautiful  and  always  in- 
spiring, patriotic  hymn,  "America."  For  years 
the  people  had  been  discrediting  our  patriotic 
songs  by  neglecting  to  study  them;  and  to-day 
newspapers  and  periodicals  are  disputing  over 
the  question  whether  or  no  we  really  have  an 
appropriate  national  hymn ;  and  the  effort  to  form 
a  common  bond  of  sympathy  or  fellowship  by  the 
union  of  heart  and  and  voice  on  memorized  patri- 
otic songs  is  usually  a  dismal  failure. 

Some  nine  or  ten  years  ago  there  was  a  re- 
union of  hundreds  of  students  in  Paris  that  in- 
cluded representatives  from  many  countries.  One 


JULIA  WARD  HOWE. 


"THE  BATTLE  CRY  OF  FREEDOM/'         109 

excellent  feature  of  the  program  was  the  singing  of 
favorite  national  songs  by  the  respective  national- 
ities. The  Russians,  Swiss,  Germans,  English, 
French  and  Italians  sang  their  songs  in  splendid 
chorus,  but  when  the  young  Americans  were  called 
upon  to  respond  with  one  or  two  popular  national 
songs,  they  were  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  for  not  one  of 
them  could  start  a  single  American  patriotic  song. 
Finally  a  happy  thought  struck  the  students  from 
the  Southern  states,  and  they  sang,  as  best  they 
could,  "We'll  Hang  John  Brown,"  and  the  North- 
ern boys,  who  were  in  the  majority,  followed  with 
the  old  army  song,  "We'll  Hang  Jeff  Davis  to  a 
Sour  Apple  Tree ;"  and  the  first  feeling  of  mortifi- 
cation was  dispelled  by  the  uproarious  merriment 
that  followed. 

William  E.  Curtis,  the  Washington  correspon- 
dent of  the  Chicago  Record,  tells  the  story  that  ex- 
Senator  John  Sherman  pays  so  little  attention  to 
our  national  songs  that  he  hardly  knows  one  from 
another.  During  the  presidental  campaign  of 
1896,  while  he  was  stumping  in  Ohio,  the  band 
played  "I'm  Looking  for  the  Bully  of  the  Town" 
to  open  his  meeting.  As  soon  as  it  finished  that 
spirited  air  Mr.  Sherman  arose  and  declared  that 
nothing  so  inspired  a  citizen  with  patriotism  for 
the  performance  of  his  duties  to  his  country  as  the 


110    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

majestic  strains  of  our  grand  old  national  hymn, 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner/'  and  he  thanked  the 
band  for  giving  him  the  text  for  his  speech. 
Everybody  laughed,  of  course,  and  Mr.  Sherman 
said  afterwards  that  it  was  the  most  irreverent 
audience  he  had  ever  addressed. 

This  need  of  a  new  national  hymn  to  meet  new 
and  exciting  conditions,  one  that  would  be  the 
great  peace  song,  yet  the  war  song  of  the  nation — 
the  national  heart-beat  set  to  music — was  deeply 
felt  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  civil  war.  At  the 
request  of  many  prominent  Union  men,  a  commit- 
tee, composed  of  scholars  and  statesmen,  among 
whom  were  George  William  Curtis,  Hamilton 
Fish,  and  General  John  A.  Dix,  was  appointed  to 
select  such  a  hymn  for  the  use  of  the  homes  in  the 
North  and  the  army  in  the  field.  The  committee 
waited  three  months  for  such  a  song.  Twelve  hun- 
dred competitors  presented  their  compositions  for 
the  prize  of  $250  for  the  words  and  $250  for  the 
music;  but  not  one  of  them  was  accepted.  The 
committee  found  that  there  was  no  soul-feeling,  no 
fire  of  patriotism,  running  through  any  of  the 
songs.  It  is  just  as  possible  to  run  a  steam  engine 
with  ice  water  as  to  produce  a  great  song  without 
inspiration.  Some  one  has  said  that  money  may 
buy  machinery — sometimes  in  the  form  of  men — 


Ill 


but  inspiration,  never.  Once  Eobert  Collyer 
nestled  up  to  the  side  of  Samuel  F.  Smith  and 
quietly  asked  him  how  he  wrote  "My  Country,  'tis 
of  Thee/7  and  the  venerable  doctor  answered,  "It 
was  not  written — it  just  came."  Great  songs, 
whether  patriotic  or  religious,  flow  from  hearts 
beating  with  noble  emotion ;  and  of  all  the 
twelve  hundred  songs  composed  in  1861  in  com- 
petition for  the  prize  of  $500,  not  one  is  alive 
to-day. 

But  Julia  Ward  Howe,  then  not  widely  known 
as  a  poet,  had  visited  the  army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  there  she  saw  the  commotion  of  war,  the  bodies 
shattered,  the  lives  sacrificed,  and  the  stress  and 
agony  of  the  government  in  its  mortal  grapple  with 
rebellion.  These  things  lay  heavy  upon  her  heart, 
which  throbbed  in  unison  with  the  great  heart 
of  the  nation;  and  one  night  in  December,  in 
1861,  she  sprang  from  her  bed  and  wrote  the 
expression  of  her  soul  in  these  words  of  living 
power : 

Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord; 
He  is  trampling  out  the  vintage  where  the  grapes  of  wrath 

are  stored; 
He  hath  loosed  the  fateful  lightning  of  his  terrible,  swift 

sword : 

His  truth  is  marching  on. 


112    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

I  have  seen  him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling 

camps ; 
They  have  builded  him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and 

damps ; 
I  can  read  his  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring 

lamps : 

His  day  is  marching  on. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel,  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel; 
"As  ye  deal  with  my  contemners,  so  with  you  my  grace  shall 

deal; 

Let  the  hero,  born  of  woman,  crush  the  serpent  with  his  heel, 
Since  God  is  marching  on." 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  sound 

retreat; 

He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  his  judgment  seat ; 
Oh,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  him!  be  jubilant,  my  feet! 
Our  God  is  marching  on. 

In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  his  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me ; 
As  he  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free, 
While  God  is  marching  on. 

The  hymn  reads  like  an  inspiration,  and  it  is 
no  wonder  that  it  is  known  wherever  the  English 
language  is  spoken.  The  music  made  the  words 
of  "John  Brown's  Body"  famous,  but  Mrs.  Howe's 
matchless  battle  song  has  made  the  melody  im- 
mortal. 

The  story  of  the  writing  of  the  song  has  been 
told  many  times,  but  for  the  edification  of  the  ris- 
ing generation  of  Americans,  and  others  who  will 


113 


follow,  it  cannot  be  too  often  repeated.  I  can  do 
no  better  than  to  reproduce  a  portion  of  an  article 
written  by  Florence  Howe  Hall  for  the  New  York 
Independent,  September  22,  1898.  In  telling  of 
"The  Building  of  a  Nation's  War  Hymn,"  she  says : 
"It  was  in  December,  1861,  that  Mrs.  Howe, 
in  company  with  her  husband,  Governor  and  Mrs. 
Andrew,  and  other  friends,  visited  Washington, 
itself  almost  in  the  condition  of  an  armed  camp. 
On  their  journey  thither  'the  watch-fires  of  a  hun- 
dred circling  camps'  gleamed  in  the  darkness,  the 
railroad  being  patrolled  by  pickets.  Mrs.  Howe 
has  told  of  the  martial  sights  and  sounds  in  the  na- 
tional capital,  and  of  her  drive  to  a  distance  of 
several  miles  from  the  city  to  see  a  review  of  our 
troops.  An  attack  of  the  enemy  interrupted  the 
program,  and  the  return  drive  was  made  through 
files  of  soldiers,  who  occupied  almost  the  entire 
road.  To  beguile  the  tedium  of  their  slow  prog- 
ress, Mrs.  Howe  and  her  friends  sang  army  songs, 
among  others,  'John  Brown's  Body.'  This  seemed 
to  please  the  soldiers,  who  surrounded  us  like  a 
river,  and  who  themselves  took  up  the  strain,  in 
the  interval  crying  to  us,  'Good  for  you!'  Our 
poet  had  often  wished  to  write  words  to  be  sung 
to  this  tune,  and  now,  indeed,  had  she  'read  a  fiery 
gospel  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel.' 


114    STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

"She  slept  quietly  that  night;  but  waking  be- 
fore dawn,  found  herself  weaving  together  the 
lines  of  a  poem,  capable  of  being  sung  to  the  { John 
Brown'  tune.  Line  after  line,  and  verse  after 
verse  fell  into  place,  and  Mrs.  Howe,  fearing  that 
they  would  fade  from  her  mind,  sprang  out  of  bed, 
and  in  the  gray  half-light  hastily  wrote  down  her 
verses,  went  back  to  bed  and  fell  asleep  again. 

"When  she  returned  to  Boston  she  showed 
them  to  James  T.  Fields,  then  editor  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Monthly.  He  suggested  the  title,  'Battle 
Hymn  of  the  Republic/  and  published  them 
promptly.  In  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  February, 
1862,  the  poem  is  printed  on  the  first  page,  but  the 
name  of  the  author  is  not  mentioned;  indeed,  no 
names  are  appended  to  the  table  of  contents.  On 
the  cover  of  this  number  the  American  flag  is  sub- 
stituted for  the  usual  design.  It  may  interest 
practical  people  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Howe  received 
five  dollars  for  her  poem." 

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  quotes  Rudyard 
Kipling,  himself  a  man  of  genius,  as  describing 
Mrs.  Howe's  famous  war  lyric,  as  the  "terrible 
Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic."  "He  saw  that 
only  a  republic,  a  mighty  nation  of  freemen,  pa- 
tient, and  slow  to  wrath,  but  terrible  when  once 
aroused,  could  have  inspired  such  a  song.  Yet 


115 


when  in  'The  Light  That  Failed'  he  makes  a  group 
of  Englishmen  and  men  of  other  nationalities  sing 
this  hymn  as  a  fitting  prelude  to  their  departure 
for  the  scenes  of  war,  he  recognizes  also  its  univer- 
sal quality — a  hymn  for  men  of  every  clime  who 
love  liberty  and  are  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives 
for  its  sake." 

When  James  Russell  Lowell  was  editor  of  the 
Atlantic  Monthly,  he  declined  to  publish  a  poem 
written  by  Mrs.  Howe,  giving  as  his  reason  there- 
for that  no  woman  could  write  a  poem,  and  he  said 
that  "Mrs.  Browning's  efforts  were  a  conspicuous 
illustration  of  this  fact."  But  after  Mr.  Lowell 
vacated  the  editor's  chair,  Mrs.  Howe  did  write 
a  poem,  and  although  he  wrote  many  verses  which 
will  live  long  in  our  literature,  he  produced  noth- 
ing that  will  last  as  long,  or  touch  the  popular 
heart  as  deeply,  as  the  glorious  anthem — 

"Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord." 

Mrs.  Howe  says  that  a  printed  copy  of  the 
words  and  music  of  the  song  was  once  sent  her 
from  Constantinople  by  some  person  unknown  to 
her;  but  afterwards,  when  she  visited  Roberts 
College,  near  the  Turkish  capital,  the  professors 
and  their  ladies,  at  parting,  asked  her  to  listen 
well  to  what  she  might  hear  on  her  way  down  the 


116    STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

steep  declivity,  and  to  her  wonderment  she  heard, 
"in  sweet,  full  cadence,  the  lines  which  scarcely 
seem  mine,  so  much  are  they  the  breath  of  that 
heroic  time  and  of  the  feeling  with  which  it  was 
filled." 

There  is  a  wonderful  touch  of  pathos,  as  well 
as  patriotism,  in  this  unique  battle  hymn.  Its 
power  over  the  emotions  of  men  is  forcibly  ex- 
emplified in  an  incident  that  took  place  during  the 
presidental  campaign  of  1896.  United  States  Sen- 
ator Thomas  0.  Platt  is  known  as  an  intense 
partisan,  and  it  is  not  unkind  to  say  of  him  that  he 
is  a  master  in  managing  the  so-called  machine  in 
the  ^Republican  politics  of  New  York.  At  a  politi- 
cal gathering,  at  which  the  senator  was  the  central 
figure,  if  not  the  controlling  spirit,  there  came  a 
lull  in  the  disputation  of  the  evening,  when,  in  a 
voice  uncultured,  of  course,  but  full  of  feeling 
that  was  strangely  pathetic,  he  began  the  beautiful 
stanza — 

"In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea." 
The  other  politicians  took  up  the  refrain — 
"Glory,  glory,  hallelujah." 

The  effect  was  unusually  impressive.  The  asperi- 
ties of  the  old  political  warriors  were  softened  by 


"THE  BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC."  117 

the  hallowed  sentiment  of  the  song;  and  it  was 
said  that  the  result  was  altogether  beyond  the 
power  of  the  charming  oratory  of  Chauncey  M. 
Depew  to  produce. 

I  want  to  quote  a  few  more  lines  from  Florence 
Howe  Hall's  excellent  paper  on  the  story  of  the 
"Battle  Hymn  of  the  Kepublic:"  "Unlike  many 
of  the  songs  of  the  civil  war,  it  contains  nothing 
sectional,  nothing  personal,  nothing  of  a  temporary 
character.  Its  author  has  repeated  it  to  audiences 
without  number,  East,  West,  North  and  South. 
While  we  feel  the  beauty  of  the  lines  and  their 
aspiration  after  freedom,  even  in  the  piping  times 
of  peace,  it  is  only  in  time  of  storm  and  stress  that 
their  full  meaning  shines  out.  Written  with  in- 
tense feeling,  they  seem  to  burn  and  glow  when 
our  own  emotions  are  aroused,  as  they  have  been 
of  late." 

The  reader  will  remember  the  sudden  and  ex- 
tremely sad  death  of  the  wife  of  United  States 
Senator  John  M.  Thurston,  of  Nebraska,  which 
took  place  on  board  the  steam  yacht  Anita,,  off 
Sagua  la  Grande,  Cuba,  on  the  14th  of  March, 
1898.  She  had  gone  to  Cuba  with  her  husband 
and  a  congressional  delegation  to  personally  inves- 
tigate and  report  upon  the  situation  there.  It  was 
a  mission  of  mercy  in  which  Mrs.  Thurston  took 


118    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

an  uncommon  interest.  She  was  taken  suddenly 
'ill  on  a  stormy  sea,  and  died  in  a  few  hours.  In 
her  dying  moments  this  broad,  noble-hearted 
woman  made  a  pathetic  appeal  for  the  deliverance 
of  Cuba  from  the  ruthless  hand  of  Spain.  Ten 
days  later,  Mr.  Thurston,  standing  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  said  he  was  there  by  com- 
mand of  silent  lips  to  speak  once  and  for  all  upon 
the  Cuban  situation,  and  his  masterly  plea  for 
the  freedom  of  the  people  that  had  been  beaten 
with  many  stripes  was  concluded  with  the  sublime 
stanzas  so  precious  to  Mrs.  Thurston : 

"In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  his  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me; 
As  he  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free, 
While  God  is  marching  on." 

Mr.  Murat  Halstead,  the  widely  known  jour- 
nalist, witnessed  the  execution  of  John  Brown  on 
the  2d  of  December,  1859,  and  in  an  article  on 
"The  Tragedy  of  John  Brown,"  printed  in  the 
New  York  Independent,  December  1,  1898,  he  re- 
lates the  following  interesting  incident : 

"Something  more  than  ten  years  later,  August, 
1870,  in  Eastern  France,  I  was  with  the  German 
invaders  of  the  fair  land  of  Lorraine,  and  one  day 
as  I  looked  upon  a  division  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Red  Prince,  a  monstrous  mass  of  men  with  the 


"THE  BATTLE  HYMN  OF  THE  REPUBLIC/''  119 

spikes  of  their  helmets  and  their  bayonets  glitter- 
ing over  them  under  a  vast  tawny  cloud  of  dust,  I 
heard  with  amazement  a  deep  throated  burst  of 
song  in  English,  and  it  was : 

"  'John  Brown's  body  is  mouldering  in  the  ground, 
But  his  soul  is  marching  on, 

Glory,  hallelujah!' 

The  German  invaders  often  sang  magnificently 
while  marching.  German  soldiers  in  our  army, 
in  the  war  of  the  States,  returning  to  the  Father- 
land to  fight  the  French,  taught  their  comrades 
the  splendid  marching  song  which  the  legions  of 
the  North  sang  along  the  historic  highways  of 
Virginia,  that  Father  Abraham's  boys  were 
coming  and  the  soul  of  John  Brown  was  marching 
on." 

This  soul-inspiring  "Battle  Hymn  of  the 
Republic"  was  the  incarnation  of  patriotism  and 
martial  feeling  pent  up  in  the  tune  of  "John 
Brown's  Body."  It  was  struck  out  of  the  white 
heat  of  unconscious  inspiration — the  soul's  pro- 
duct of  a  mighty  moment.  "All  through  the  wild 
echoes  of  the  fearful  struggle"  of  the  civil  war, 
this  song  was  a  messenger  of  faith,  hope,  and 
promise.  It  is  indeed  the  most  resonant  and 
elevating  of  all  American  battle  hymns.  It  is 
simple,  but  dignified,  full  of  vigor,  and  is  worthy 


120   STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL,  SONGS. 

of  being  the  imperishable  war  song  of  a  Christian 
Nation. 

Florence  Howe  Hall  says:  "The  soul  of  the 
vast  army  of  the  American  people,  struggling  for 
utterance  in  the  greatest  crisis  of  its  existence,  at 
last  found  a  voice  to  express  its  meaning,  and  its 
aspiration — the  voice  of  a  woman" — a  voice  that 
will  ever  make  the  music  of  patriots 

"While  God  is  marching  on." 


CHAPTEK  XI. 

rWE  ARE  COMING,  FATHER  ABRAHAM." 

EASUEED  by  the  service  it  per- 
formed at  a  most  critical  period  dur- 
ing the  war  between  the  States,  the 
song  entitled,  "We  are  coming,  Father 
Abraham,"  deserves  a  permanent  place  in  the  story 
of  the  songs  of  the  Union.  It  was  indeed  famous 
in  its  day  and  generation,  and  because  it  has  now 
largely  fallen  into  disuse  is  no  reason  why  its  story 
should  not  be  perpetuated.  Any  important  facts 
bearing  on  the  life  and  character  of  the  man  who 
wrote  the  song,  or  any  stirring  even  that  inspired 
it,  cannot  fail  to  be  of  special  interest. 

This  country  saw  some  dark  days  in  1862 ;  and 
although  under  previous  calls  there  were  fully 
500,000  volunteers  in  the  field,  a  demand  for  more 
troops  was  made  by  the  generals,  and  on  the  second 
of  July  of  that  year  President  Lincoln  issued  a 


122          STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

proclamation  for  300,000  more.  It  was  to  aid  in 
the  filling  of  the  stricken  ranks  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  under  that  call,  that  Mr.  John  S. 
Gibbons  wrote  the  rallying  song,  which  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

.    We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  more, 
From  Mississippi's  winding  stream 
And  from  New  England's  shore. 
We  leave  our  plows  and  workshops, 

Our  wives  and  children  dear, 
With  hearts  too  full  for  utterance, 

With  but  a  silent  tear. 
We  dare  not  look  behind  us, 

But  steadfastly  before — 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  more! 

CHOBUS. 

We  are  coming,  we  are  coming, 

Our  Union  to  restore; 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 

Three  hundred  thousand  more; 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 

Three  hundred  thousand  more. 

If  you  look  across  the  hilltops 

That  meet  the  northern  sky, 
Long,  moving  lines  of  rising  dust 

Your  vision  may  descry, 
And  now  the  wind  an  instant 

Tears  the  cloudy  veil  aside 
And  floats  our  spangled  flag 

In  glory  and  in  pride, 


"WE  ARE  COMING,  FATHER  ABRAHAM."       123 

And  bayonets  in  the  sunlight  gleam 

And  bands  brave  music  pour — 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 

Three  hundred  thousand  more! 

If  you  look  all  up  our  valleys 

Where  the  growing  harvests  shine, 
You  may  see  our  sturdy  farmer  boys 

Fast  forming  into  line; 
And  children  from  their  mothers'  knees 

Are  pulling  at  the  weeds, 
And  learning  how  to  reap  and  sow, 

Against  their  country's  needs; 
And  a  farewell  group  stands  weeping 

At  every  cottage  door — 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 

Three  hundred  thousand  more! 

You  have  called  us  and  we're  coming, 

By  Richmond's  bloody  tide, 
To  lay  us  down  for  freedom's  sake, 

Our  brothers'  bones  beside; 
Or  from  foul  treason's  savage  grasp 

To  wrench  the  murderous  blade, 
And  in  the  face  of  foreign  foes, 

Its  fragments  to  parade. 
Six  hundred  thousand  loyal  men 

And  true  have  gone  before — 
We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 

Three  hundred  thousand  more! 

Mr.  Gibbons  was  a  member  of  the  liberal  wing 
of  the  Quaker  family  called  the  Hicksites,  founded 


124    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

in  the  United  States  by  Elias  Hicks,  about  1827. 
He  believed  in  the  kind  of  war  the  government 
was  carrying  on;  and  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  James 
H.  Morse,  speaking  of  Mr.  Gibbons'  Quakerism 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Brander  Matthews,  says  he  had 
"a  reasonable  leaning,  however,  toward  wrath  in 
cases  of  emergency." 

I  take  the  liberty  to  reproduce  from  Mr. 
Matthews'  excellent  article,  in  the  Century 
Magazine,  on  "The  Songs  of  the  War,"  some  inter- 
esting facts  regarding  Mr.  Gibbons  and  his  ringing 
call  to  arms.  He  lived  in  New  York  City,  and 
became  an  abolitionist,  and  was  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  "Anti-Slavery  Standard."  When  the  war 
broke  out  Mrs.  Gibbons  and  her  eldest  daughter 
went  to  the  front  and  served  in  the  hospitals  until 
the  close  of  the  conflict.  In  the  great  draft  riots 
in  New  York  City,  in  1863,  Mr.  Gibbons'  house 
was  sacked,  and  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  mob  he 
and  his  two  youngest  daughters  made  their  way 
-over  the  roofs  of  houses  to  Eighth  Avenue,  where 
Mr.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  now  ambassador  to  Great 
Britain,  had  a  carriage  in  waiting  for  them. 
It  seems  that  the  class  of  people  composing  the  mob 
had  become  exasperated  by  the  great  influence  of 
Mr.  Gibbons'  song  in  swelling  the  ranks  of  the 
army. 


"WE  AEE  COMING,  FATHEB  ABRAHAM."       125 

When  the  call  came  for  300,000  more  volun- 
teers, Mr.  Gibbons  would  take  long  walks  and 
ponder  the  matter  of  writing  a  song  which  would 
meet  the  extraordinary  emergency.  He  had 
previously  written  verse,  but  was  best  known  as  a 
writer  on  financial  topics,  having  published  two 
books  on  banks  and  banking,  and  for  a  while  was 
financial  editor  of  The  New  York  Evening  Post. 
The  song  did  not  come  by  inspiration.  It  was  the 
product  of  much  thought,  and  one  incident  after 
another  was  required  to  give  him  aid  in  putting 
together  the  lines  which  were  to  contribute 
so  much  to  the  uprising  of  the  people  in 
response  to  the  President's  call.  When  the 
song  was  finished  it  was  printed  in  the 
Evening  Post,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1862,  just  two 
weeks  after  the  proclamation  was  issued.  Mr. 
Gibbons  appears  to  have  had  the  idea  that  he  would 
save  his  reputation  by  publishing  the  song  anony- 
mously, but  it  read  so  well  and  was  in  all  respects 
so  suited  to  the  times,  that  at  a  great  mass  meeting 
held  in  Boston,  on  the  evening  after  it  appeared 
in  New  York,  the  distinguished  Josiah  Quincy 
read  it  as  "the  latest  poem  written  by  William 
Cullen  Bryant."  The  song  was  copied  far  and 
wide  and  credited  to  Mr.  Bryant,  who  was  editor 
of  The  Post;  and  it  became  necessary,  in  justice 


126    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

to  Mr.  Gibbons,  for  Mr.  Bryant  to  publish  a  note 
which  gave  honor  to  whom  honor  was  due. 

The  words  of  the  song  have  been  adapted  to 
music  by  several  composers,  but  the  original 
setting  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  Hutchinson 
family,  by  whom  the  song  was  first  sung,  was  the 
most  stirring  of  them  all.  There  were  some 
gloomy  days  for  the  government  in  1864,  when 
orders  for  drafting  700,000  men  were  issued,  and 
Mr.  Matthews  relates  an  incident  that  occurred 
during  the  summer  of  that  year  which  is  very  pa- 
thetic. One  day  Lincoln  was  called  down  to  the 
Red  Room  of  the  White  House  to  meet  some  vis- 
itors, and  stood  with  "bowed  head,  and  patient, 
pensive  eyes/7  so  peculiar  to  that  sad  man,  while 
one  of  the  visitors  sang: 

"We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  more." 

Mr.  Gibbons  died  in  New  York,  October  17, 

1892. 


CHAPTEK  XII. 

A  TRIO  OF  GOOD  WAK  SONGS. 

S  the  soldier  was  nerved  for  the  shock 
of  battle   by   the    inspiration   in   the 
"Battle  Cry  of  Freedom/'  so  in  his 
prison  cell  his  heart  was  fired  with 
hope  by  the  cheering  strains  of — 

"Tramp,   tramp,   tramp,   the  boys   are   marching." 

And  how  to  the  sound  of  that  music  the  blood  still 
thrills  with  the  enthusiasm  of  765.  There  is  for- 
cible suggestion  of  the  solid  march  of  Union 
armies  in  the  words  and  music  of  that  familiar 
song.  It  was  composed  by  Dr.  Root — both  words 
and  music — quite  early  in  the  war.  Its  purpose 
was  to  give  a  more  hopeful  view  of  the  conditions 
of  the  country,  and  more  particularly  to  cheer  the 
boys  who  had  been  captured  by  the  enemy  and 
placed  in  prison  pens. 

In  that  remarkable  scene  at  Charleston  in  the 


128    STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

fall  of  1864,  we  have  a  striking  example  of  the 
inspiring  power  in  a  song  of  patriotism.  Several 
hundred  of  our  soldiers  were  herded  in  a  prison 
pen.  They  were  half  starved,  ill-clad,  and  stag- 
gered in  their  weakness.  One  afternoon  when  they 
were  marched  out  of  the  pen,  but  only  to  exchange 
one  prison  for  another,  there  came  from  these 
veterans  of  war  an  outburst  in  the  prisoner's  song 
of  hope : 

"Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  boys  are  marching, 

Cheer  up,  comrades,  they  will  come, 
And  beneath  the  starry  flag  we  shall  breathe  the  air  again, 

Of  the  freeland  in  our  own  beloved  home." 

These  suffering  defenders  of  the  Union  sang 
the  song  not  only  with  patriotic  unction,  but  in 
splendid  triumph,  for  in  a  few  months  after  the 
affecting  scenes  of  that  day  they  did  hear  tramp, 
tramp,  tramp,  and  the  boys  came  marching  like 
conquering  heroes,  prison  doors  were  unloosed, 
prison  pen  walls  were  broken  down,  and  the  boys 
breathed  the  air  of  freedom  again. 

The  Charleston  scene  teaches  us  that  we  can 
sing  away  our  cares  better  than  we  can  reason  them 
away;  and  there  are  thousands  of  times  in  our 
lives  when  we  put  a  song  under  our  burdens  and 
they  disappear,  and  we  learn  to  love  music  for 
what  it  makes  us  forget  and  for  what  it  makes  us 


A  TKIO  OF  GOOD  WAR  SONGS.  129 

remember.  It  has  been  said  that  one  song  in  time 
of  trouble  and  storm  is  worth  a  whole  band  in  ease 
and  sunshine.  The  ministry  of  song  is  one  of  these 
beautiful  and  mighty  influences  which  are  ever  il- 
lustrated in  the  highest  and  divinest  life  of  man 
and  in  the  supremest  crisis  of  every  nation. 

There  is  more  mournful  pathos  in  Dr.  Root's 
"Just  Before  the  Battle,  Mother/'  than  any  other 
of  the  thirty  or  more  army  songs  he  composed. 
The  song  whose  sentiment  was  truly  pathetic  had 
a  mission  in  the  army  as  well  as  the  song  of  humor 
— "Wake,  Nicodemus" — or  the  song  of  cheer — 
"Rally  Round  the  Flag."  Dr.  Root  wrote  for  al- 
most all  the  varied  circumstances  caused  by  the 
war,  and  has  written  for  all  time  as  well.  Some 
one  has  said,  speaking  of  "Just  Before  the  Battle, 
Mother,"  that  "mother  and  sons  are  ever  thinking 
of  each  other ;  there  is  always  a  war,  a  conflict,  a 
battle,  a  triumph,  a  blessing  somewhere,  and  Dr. 
Root  caught  its  melody  and  gave  it  life :" 

Just  before  the  battle,  mother, 

I  am  thinking  most  of  you, 
While  upon  the  field  we're  watching 

With  the  enemy  in  view. 
Comrades  brave  around  me  lying, 

Filled  with  thoughts  of  home  and  God, 
For  well  they  know  that  on  the  morrow, 

Some  will  sleep  beneath  the  sod. 


130          STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


CHOBUS. 

Farewell,  mother,  you  may  never 

Press  me  to  your  heart  again. 
Oh,  you'll  not  forget  me,  mother, 

If  I'm  numbered  with  the  slain. 

Oh,  I  long  to  see  you,  mother, 

And  the  loving  ones  at  home, 
But  I'll  never  leave  our  banner 

Till  in  honor  I  can  come. 

Tell  the  traitors  all  around  you 

That  their  cruel  words  we  know, 
In  every  battle  kill  our  soldiers 

By  the  help  they  give  the  foe. 

Hark!  I  hear  the  bugle  sounding. 

'Tis  the  signal  for  the  fight, 
Now,  may  God  protect  us,  mother, 

As  He  ever  does  the  right. 

Hear  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom," 

How  it  swells  upon  the  air! 
Oh,  yes,  we'll  rally  round  the  standard 

Or  we'll  perish  nobly  there. 

I  clearly  remember  how  the  boys  in  the  Thirty- 
third  Wisconsin  Infantry  used  to  sing  this  song 
with  almost  ineffable  emotion.  In  the  dullness  of 
camp  life  and  on  long  and  weary  marches  it  ap- 
peared to  exert  a  helpful  influence  that  no  other 
song  could.  The  words  and  music  blended  so  well, 
and  so  well  interpreted  each  other  in  days  when 


A  TRIO  OF  GOOD  WAft  SONGS.  131 

many  a  boy  in  peril  felt  all  the  sentiments  the  song 
expressed,  that  it  became  one  of  the  great  songs  of 
the  army. 

In  "Bright  Skies  and  Dark  Shadows,"  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Henry  M.  Field,  a  curious  incident  is 
given  which  took  place  on  the  day  of  the  great 
battle  of  Franklin,  Tenn.,  November  30,  1864, 
and  was  told  to  Dr.  Field  on  the  battle  field  by  a 
Mr.  McEwen,  an  old  resident  at  Nashville,  at 
whose  house  General  Kimball  made  his  headquar- 
ters, and  from  the  front  door  of  which  Mr.  Mc- 
Ewen witnessed  the  whole  battle : 

"About  four  o'clock,  after  the  General  had  left 
for  the  field,  there  lingered  a  Colonel  from  Indian- 
apolis in  my  parlor,  who  asked  my  daughters  to 
sing  and  play  a  piece  of  music.  I  requested  the 
young  ladies  to  sing  'Just  Before  the  Battle, 
Mother.'  As  I  stepped  to  the  door,  a  shell  ex- 
ploded within  fifty  yards.  The  Colonel  imme- 
diately sprang  to  his  feet  and  ran  in  the  direction 
of  his  regiment,  but  before  he  reached  it,  or  about 
that  time,  he  was  shot,  the  bullet  passing  quite 
through  him.  He  was  taken  to  Nashville,  and 
eighteen  days  after  I  received  a  message  from  him 
through  an  officer,  stating  the  fact  of  his  being 
shot,  and  that  the  piece  of  music  the  young  women 
were  executing  was  still  ringing  in  his  ears,  and 


132    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

had  been  ever  since  he  left  my  parlor  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  battle.  In  April,  four  months  later, 
after  the  war  was  over,  he  had  sufficiently  recov- 
ered to  travel,  when  he  came  to  Franklin,  expressly 
to  get  the  young  ladies  to  finish  the  song,  and  re- 
lieve his  ears.  His  wife  and  more  than  a  dozen 
officers  accompanied  him.  He  found  the  young 
women  and  they  sang  and  played  the  piece  through 
for  him  in  the  presence  of  all  the  officers,  and  they 
wept  like  children." 

Tens  of  thousands  of  people  in  this  country 
and  in  foreign  lands  have  sung  "The  Vacant 
Chair."  It  is  a  song  of  the  war  that  will  never 
grow  old.  It  has  carried  comfort  to  many 
thousands  of  sorrowing  hearts,  and  its  mission  will 
never  end.  As  long  as  Memorial  Day  is  observed 
by  the  American  people,  and  flowers  are  tenderly 
laid  upon  the  graves  of  our  fallen  heroes,  "The 
Vacant  Chair"  will  be  sung.  A  song  we  love  be- 
comes all  the  dearer  when  we  know  something  of 
the  circumstances  that  gave  it  birth.  Its  touching 
story  is  well  worth  repeating  and  remembering. 

The  battle  of  Balls  Bluff,  Va.,  in  which  Gen- 
eral McClellan  was  defeated,  was  fought  on  the 
21st  of  October,  1861.  In  the  engagement  was  the 
Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Infantry,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Charles  Devens,  who  afterwards  was  At- 


A  TRIO  OF  GOOD  WAR  SONGS.  133 

torney  General  in  President  Hayes'  Cabinet.  The 
Federal  army  became  demoralized,  and  a  stampede 
followed.  In  the  Fifteenth  Regiment  was  Lieu- 
tenant William  F.  Grout,  only  eighteen  years  old, 
but  brave  and  manly.  There  is  an  account  which 
says  that  during  the  battle,  while  men  fell  on  every 
side,  he  escaped  unharmed,  and  that  his  courage 
and  self-possession  urged  his  men  to  renewed  ef- 
forts. When  the  day  was  lost  and  the  men  were 
forced  to  retreat  to  the  river  he  seemed  to  be  ut- 
terly regardless  of  himself  in  his  desire  to  have  the 
wounded  conveyed  to  the  opposite  shore.  He 
crossed  the  stream  with  a  boat  load  of  sufferers, 
and,  seeing  them  safely  landed,  returned  to  render 
like  assistance  to  others ;  but  the  deadly  fire  made 
it  necessary  to  abandon  the  boats,  and  he  was  soon 
obliged  to  plunge  into  the  stream  to  save  himself 
from  captivity  or  death.  He  had  reached  the  mid- 
dle of  the  river  when  he  exclaimed  to  a  comrade 
near  at  hand:  "Tell  Company  D  I  could  have 
reached  the  shore — but — I'm  shot,"  and  the 
waters  immediately  closed  over  him. 

Four  weeks  later  Henry  S.  Washburn,  of  Wor- 
cester, Mass,  (now  living  in  Boston  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five)  being  well  acquainted  with  young 
Grout,  and  thinking  with  deep  emotion  of  the 
chair  that  would  be  vacant  at  the  thanksgiving 


134          STOEIES  OF  GKREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

board  in  the  home  of  sorrow,  wrote  the  words  of 
the  song  in  one  of  these  inspired  moments,  so 
strange  in  their  influence— moments  in  which  all 
the  great  songs  of  the  world  have  been  sung  and 
all  the  master  discourses  pronounced : 

We  shall  meet,  but  we  shall  miss  him; 

There  will  be  one  vacant  chair; 
We  shall  linger  to  caress  him 

When  we  breathe  our  evening  prayer. 
When  a  year  ago  we  gathered 

Joy  was  in  his  mild  blue  eye; 
But  a  golden  cord  is  severed 

And  our  hopes  in  ruin  lie. 

At  our  fireside,  sad  and  lonely, 

Often  will  the  bosom  swell 
At  remembrance  of  the  story — 

How  our  noble  Willie  fell; 
How  he  strove  to  bear  our  banner 

Through  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
And  uphold  our  country's  honor 

With  the  strength  of  manhood's  might. 

True,  they  tell  us,  wreaths  of  glory 

Evermore  will  deck  his  brow; 
But  this  soothes  the  anguish  only 

Sweeping  o'er  our  heartstrings  now. 
Sleep  to-day,  0  early  fallen! 

In  thy  green  and  narrow  bed; 
Dirges  from  the  pine  and  cypress 

Mingle  with  the  tears  we  shed. 


A  TRIO  OF  GOOD  WAR  SONGS.  135 

We  shall  meet,  but  we  shall  miss  him; 

There  will  be  one  vacant  chair; 
We  shall  linger  to  caress  him 

When  we  breathe  our  evening  prayer. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  the  lines  were  written  Dr. 
Root  set  them  to  music,  and  the  song  soon  gained 
international  fame.  The  sad  fate  of  Willie  of  the 
song,  who  fought  so  well  and  died  so  tragically  in 
his  youth,  is  sung  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
homes  here  and  in  foreign  lands. 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

f MARCHING    THROUGH    GEORGIA.' 


the  songs  of  the  Union  which 
have  a  living  popularity  there  is  none 
more  deeply  cherished  than  Work's 
remarkable  song,  "Marching  Through 
Georgia."  It  came  into  being  to  commemorate 
one  of  the  most  striking  episodes  of  the  war,  the 
famous  march  of  Sherman  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea. 
It  was  a  song  of  the  last  grand  effort  of  the  war  of 
the  Eebellion,  and  from  the  first  it  had  a  powerful 
influence  in  reviving  hope  and  courage  during  the 
closing  days  of  1864. 

In  1841  a  man  named  Alanson  Work  was 
walking  along  a  road  in  Missouri,  when  he  was 
overtaken  by  some  fugitive  slaves  who  asked  him 
the  way  to  a  free  state.  He  directed  them,  and 
responding  to  their  pitiable  beseechings,  gave  them 
a  little  money  to  aid  them  in  their  escape  from 
bondage.  For  this  he  was  arrested,  tried  and  con- 


HENRY  C.   WORK. 


"MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA."         137 

victed,  and  sentenced  to  twelve  years  at  hard  labor 
in  the  state  prison  at  Jefferson  City.  After  serv- 
ing a  term  of  three  or  four  years  he  was  pardoned 
on  condition  that  he  should  return  to  Connecticut, 
his  native  state.  But  how  true  are  the  words  of 
Shakespeare:  "Thus  the  whirligig  of  time  brings 
his  revenges." 

One  morning  in  the  early  months  of  the  war,  a 
young  man  climbed  up  to  the  private  room  of  Dr. 
George  F.  Root,  in  Chicago,  with  the  manuscript 
of  a  song  for  the  doctor  to  examine.  He  was  a 
tall,  care-worn,  invalid-like  fellow,  with  sadness 
in  his  voice  and  bearing,  and  poverty  in  his  dress. 
The  composer  looked  at  the  finely  written  music, 
and  then  with  astonishment  and  in  pity  he  gazed 
at  the  forlorn  apparition  before  him,  wondering 
how  such  a  soul  as  that  could  produce  music.  The 
doctor  asked  him  if  he  wrote  the  words  and  tune, 
and  in  a  diffident  tone,  burdened  with  pathos,  he 
said  "yes."  He  was  a  printer  by  trade,  but  was 
sickly,  and  could  do  but  little  work.  The  song  was 
the  popular  "Kingdom  Coming,"  the  first  great 
humorous  song  of  the  war.  The  young  man  was 
Henry  C.  Work,  who  was  nine  years  old  when  his 
father  was  sentenced  to  twelve  years  imprisonment 
for  bestowing  charity  upon  the  fugitives.  Henry 
had  vivid  remembrances  of  his  father's  persecu- 


138    STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

tion,  and  had  an  ardent  desire  to  render  some  ser- 
vice in  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  Dr.  Root  en- 
couraged him  to  write  songs  for  the  boys  who  were 
strong  enough  to  fight,  and  his  war  pieces  became 
a  marvelous  power  in  the  army. 

The  song  by  Mr.  Work  which  supersedes  all 
others  of  his  making  was  written  shortly  after 
General  Sherman  began  his  great  march  from 
Atlanta  to  the  sea,  the  movement  of  the  army 
beginning  about  the  16th  of  November,  1864. 

Bring  the  good  old  bugle,  boys, 

We'll  sing  another  song; 
Sing  it  with  the  spirit 

That  will  start  the  world  along; 
Sing  it  as  we  used  to  sing  it, 

Fifty  thousand  strong, 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 

CHORUS. 

Hurrah !  hurrah !     We  bring  the  jubilee ! 
Hurrah!  hurrah!     The  flag  that  makes  you  free; 
So  we  sang  the  chorus  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 

How  the  darkies  shouted 

When  they  heard  the  joyful  sound, 
How  the  turkeys  gobbled 

Which  our  commissary  found, 
How  the  sweet  potatoes 

Even  started  from  the  ground 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 


(C 


MARCHING   THROUGH    GEORGIA."  139 

Yes,  and  there  were  Union  men 

Who  wept  with  joyful  tears, 
When  they  saw  the  honored  flag 

They  had  not  seen  for  years, 
Hardly  could  they  be  restrained 

From  breaking  forth  in  cheers, 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 

"Sherman's  dashing  Yankee  boys 

Will  never  reach  the  coast," 
So  the  saucy  rebels  said. 

It  was  a  handsome  boast, 
Had  they  not  forgot,  alas! 

To  reckon  with  their  host, 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 

So  we  made  a  thoroughfare 

For  freedom  and  her  train, 
Sixty  miles  in  latitude, 

Three  hundred  to  the  main; 
Treason  fled  before  us, 

For  resistance  was  in  vain 
While  we  were  marching  through  Georgia. 

Mr.  Work  wrote  some  splendid  army  songs, 
but  his  reputation  will  rest  on  "Marching 
Through  Georgia."  There  are  cheering  strains 
in  the  music  which  did  much  to  enliven  the  cainps ; 
and  there  is  a  swinging  rhythm  about  it  that  kept 
in  step  the  marching  of  the  masses.  Dr.  Root 
thought  that  "Marching  Through  Georgia"  was 
more  frequently  used  than  any  other  song  of  the 
war ;  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  intrinsic  merit 


140    STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

of  its  words  or  music,  but  because  it  is  retrospec- 
tive. "Other  war  songs,  like  the  'Battle  Cry  of 
Freedom/  were  for  exciting  a  patriotic  feeling  on 
going  in  the  war  or  in  battle,  while  'Marching 
Through  Georgia'  is  a  glorious  remembrance  on 
coming  triumphantly  out." 

In  a  certain  sense,  it  is  the  song  of  all  army 
songs.  It  has  been  said  that  "age  cannot  wither 
nor  custom  stale  the  infinite  variety  of  ways  the 
tune  is  served  up,  from  the  newsboys  on  the  streets 
to  the  Salvation  Army  and  the  tenore-robusto  who 
sings  campaign  songs,  and  from  Gilmore's  band 
to  the  Dago  organ,  the  gamut  of  human  and  arti- 
ficial instrumentalities  is  run  with  varying  suc- 
cess." 

So  universal  in  its  use  was  "Marching  Through 
Georgia"  that  General  Sherman  heard  it  with 
supreme  disgust.  It  pursued  him  from  city  to 
city,  and  from  state  to  state;  and  in  all  the  great 
cities  of  Europe  in  which  he  was  received  with  dis- 
tinguished honors,  the  burden  of  the  music  was 
"Marching  Through  Georgia."  When  the  general 
attended  the  national  encampment  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  in  Boston  in  1890,  He  saw 
from  the  reviewing  stand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
bands,  and  a  hundred  drum  and  fife  corps  pass  in 
review ;  and  the  old  warrior  stood  for  seven  mortal 


"MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA/'         141 

hours  listening  to  the  never-ending  strains  of  the 
music  which  commemorates  the  most  triumphant 
march  of  modern  times.  His  patience  collapsed, 
and  with  a  grim  gravity,  peculiar  to  him,  and  in 
language  too  emphatic  for  repetition  here,  he  de- 
clared that  he  would  never  attend  another  national 
encampment  until  every  band  in  the  United  States 
has  signed  an  agreement  not  to  play  "Marching 
Through  Georgia"  in  his  presence.  This  was 
Sherman's  last  encampment,  and  when  the  tune 
was  next  played  in  his  presence,  six  months  after, 
"there  came  no  response  from  the  echoless  shore 
to  which  his  soul  had  wafted." 

The  melody  of  "Marching  Through  Georgia" 
has  found  its  way  into  nearly  every  country  of  the 
globe.  At  a  monthly  dinner  of  the  Commandery 
of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  given 
in  New  York  City  two  or  three  years  before  Gen- 
eral Sherman's  death,  he  related  this  amusing  inci- 
dent: "Wherever  I  go,  not  only  in  my  own  coun- 
try, but  in  Europe,  'Marching  Through  Georgia' 
pursues  me.  On  one  occasion,  arriving  at  a  Dublin 
hotel  in  a  driving  rain,  I  was  congratulating  my- 
self that  the  weather  was  such  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  the  usual  serenade,  and  drawing 
forth  my  writing  materials,  I  addressed  myself  to 
my  long-neglected  correspondence.  Scarcely  had 


142    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

I  gotten  under  way,  however,  when  the  strains  of 
that  infernal  tune  smote  upon  my  ear.  I  sprang 
up,  and,  hustling  into  my  uniform,  stepped  out 
upon  the  veranda.  In  the  distance  a  band  was 
approaching,  followed  by  a  number  of  men  with 
guns  on  their  shoulders.  I  advanced  to  the  rail- 
ing, and  prepared  for  the  pending  ovation,  but 
without  a  pause,  or  even  a  glance  toward  the  spot 
where  I  stood,  they  went  on  'Marching  Through 
Georgia.'  It  was  a  gunning  club,  so  some  one  told 
me  afterwards,  going  to  a  certain  place  to  shoot  at 
a  target." 

There  is  an  expression  of  enthusiasm  in  this 
war  tune  which  is  as  fresh  now  as  it  was  thirty- 
four  years  ago.  A  story  is  told  that  a  veteran  liv- 
ing in  the  backwoods  of  Ohio  was  called  out  to 
march  with  other  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic.  He  had  borne  the  burden  and  heat 
of  many  days  in  the  civil  war,  and  the  hard  service 
and  the  weight  of  years  were  telling  upon  him. 
After  marching  a  mile  or  two,  the  strain  became 
too  severe  for  the  old  soldier.  His  step  was  uncer- 
tain, and  he  could  hardly  keep  up  with  the  others. 
Finally  the  commander  said  to  him : 

"Say,  Tom,  keep  step;  you  are  throwing  out 
the  whole  line."  "Cap,  how  kin  a  feller  keep  step 
leading  the  line  with  one  of  the  popular  airs  of 


"MAECHING  THROUGH  GEOEGIA/'         143 

the  day.  "Why  don't  they  play  something  like 
this?7'  and  he  hummed,  in  a  voice  husky  and 
scratchy  and  out  of  tune,  a  strain  from  "March- 
ing Through  Georgia."  The  captain  laughed  and 
turned  away,  and  the  introductory  notes  of  the 
next  piece  caused  the  old  fellow  to  straighten  up. 
His  cudgel  waved  about  like  the  baton  of  a  drum- 
major,  and  a  little  later  a  thousand  feet  were 
coming  down  as  one ;  the  fatigue  of  the  march  was 
forgotten,  and  a  thousand  voices  were  joined  in 
the  rousing  chorus. 

Henry  Clay  Work  was  born  at  Middletown, 
Conn.,  in  1832.  He  had  received  a  common  school 
education,  and  in  1855  settled  in  Chicago,  where 
he  continued  his  trade  as  a  printer.  He  began  to 
write  songs  quite  early  in  his  young  manhood,  and 
one  of  his  first  compositions  was  "Lily  Dale," 
which,  it  is  said,  brought  him  $2,500.  During  his 
life  he  wrote  seventy-five  songs,  but  not  being  at 
his  best  at  all  times,  many  of  them  have  passed 
away  with  the  impulse  or  the  occasion  that  pro- 
duced them,  and  are  now  forgotten. 

Mr.  Work's  fame  as  a  writer  of  songs  began 
with  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war.  As  already 
stated,  his  first  humorous  song  of  the  war  was 
"Kingdom  Coming,"  then  followed  "Wake  Nico- 
demus,"  "Babylon  is  Fallen,"  "Grafted  Into  the 


144          STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Army/'  "Brave  Boys  Are  They,"  "Song  of  a 
Thousand  Years/'  and  the  last,  but  greatest  of  all, 
"Marching  Through  Georgia."  As  there  was  a 
tender  ministry  in  such  a  song  as  "Just  Before  the 
Battle,  Mother,"  so  there  was  a  special  ministry 
of  good  cheer  in  the  humorous  pieces  composed  by 
Mr.  Work  which  saved  thousands  of  soldiers  from 
despair.  Apropos  of  our  jocular  war  songs,  the 
Russian  battle  hymn  is  usually  a  mournful  thing, 
and  an  American  traveler  says  that  when  a  man 
has  been  compelled  to  hear  a  Russian  war  melody, 
it  will  make  him  mad  enough  to  fight  somebody  if 
he  had  to  walk  a  thousand  miles  to  find  his  man. 

The  popularity  and  frequent  use  of  "Marching 
Through  Georgia"  have  overshadowed  all  other 
songs  of  the  war  written  or  composed  by  Mr.  Work. 
Among  his  best  compositions  was  "Song  of  a  Thou- 
sand Years,"  written  when  the  war-cloud  was  low- 
est and  darkest  and  when  the  cause  of  the  Union 
did  not  have  the  friendly  sympathy  of  England. 
Of  course,  the  words  are  now  obsolete.  There  are 
no  "desponding  freemen" ;  no  "needless  fears  to 
fling  to  the  winds" ;  no  "envious  foes  beyond  the 
ocean";  no  "rebels  to  hide  their  faces";  and  no 
"secret  traitors  to  creep  back  to  their  dens." 

The  visit  of  President  McKinley  to  the  South 
in  the  autumn  of  1898,  "meant  full  reconciliation 


"MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA."         145 

of  the  surviving  veterans  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray, 
their  sons  and  grandsons,  over  the  shriven  ashes 
of  their  dead  comrades  on  both  sides.  His  kindly 
words  broke  the  seal  of  the  sepulchre  in  which 
Southern  loyalty  had  been  buried  with  the  ashes 
of  its  dead  heroes,  and  gave  a  new  resurrection  to 
its  ancient  love  for  the  flag  of  their  fathers.  They 
smote  the  rock  of  Southern  prejudice  and  from  it 
gushed  forth  the  living  waters  of  patriotic  senti- 
ment so  long  locked  up."  Therefore  the  words  of 
"Song  of  a  Thousand  Years"  are  out  of  harmony 
with  our  new  relations.  But  the  music  is  stately 
and  vigorous,  and  should  be  set  to  nobler  words. 
If  some  poet  of  the  soul  could  be  inspired  to  pro- 
duce lines  which  would  give  expression  to  the  high- 
est patriotism,  or  to  praise  that  is  the  symbol  of 
perpetual  gladness,  and  wed  them  to  the  melody 
of  "Song  of  a  Thousand  Years,"  it  would  give 
meritorious  honor  to  one  of  our  best  tunes  of  the 
civil  war. 

The  last  years  of  Henry  C.  Work  were  full  of 
sadness.  Accumulating  a  handsome  competence 
from  the  sale  of  his  war  songs,  he  went  to  Europe 
in  1865,  and  spent  two  years  in  travel.  It  was 
during  this  stay  abroad  that  he  was  married, 
although  there  is  a  conflict  of  opinion  as  to  the 
time,  there  being  no  written  account  of  the  event. 


146          STORIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

In  1867  he  settled  in  Vineland,  1ST.  J.,  and  in  con- 
nection with  an  elder  brother,  invested  a  large  part 
of  his  fortune  in  a  fruit  farm.  While  living  in 
Vineland  his  first  child  died,  and  a  second  was 
born  to  him.  Work  was  never  a  hopeful  man,  and 
when  his  little  boy  was  taken  away  the  melancholy 
which  had  been  too  often  his  companion  came 
upon  him  in  a  worse  form  than  ever  before.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  his  wife's  mind  became 
seriously  affected,  which  made  it  necessary  to  take 
her  to  an  asylum  for  the  insane.  Work  was  over- 
whelmed by  this  calamity,  and  when  his  little  prop- 
erty in  Chicago  was  swept  away  by  the  fire  of 
1871,  and  his  investment  in  Vineland  went  down 
in  the  vortex  that  had  sunk  many  other  fortunes, 
the  sad  man  became  a  wanderer  upon  the  earth. 
When  he  saw  that  all  was  gone,  the  only  comment 
he  made  on  his  adversities  was:  "It  is  well;  had 
I  become  rich  I  might  have  become  hard."  But 
in  his  sorrow  and  despondency  Mr.  Work  judged 
himself  too  harshly.  He  was  a  sympathetic  man 
by  nature,  was  always  kind  and  gentle,  and  was 
generous  to  a  fault  in  his  giving. 

Mr.  Cady,  formerly  of  Root  &  Cady,  music 
publishers  of  Chicago,  relates  the  story  that  he 
went  to  New  York  shortly  after  the  Chicago  fire 
to  go  into  business  for  himself,  and  concluded  that 


"MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA."         147 

if  he  could  get  a  new  song  from  Work  it  would  be 
helpful  to  both.  He  began  a  search  for  the  com- 
poser, and  at  last  found  him  reading  proof  in  a 
printing  house.  When  Mr.  Cady  said  to  him, 
"Henry,  I  want  you  to  write  me  a  song,"  the  lat- 
ter, hardly  able  to  control  his  emotions,  answered, 
"I  have  no  heart  to  write  songs  again."  But  Mr. 
Cady  encouraged  him  to  consent,  and  in  a  few 
days  Mr.  Work  handed  him  "My  Grandfather's 
Clock,"  "Sweet  Echo  Dell,"  and  one  of  spiritual 
nature,  "Life  Beyond  the  Veil."  In  handing  them 
to  Mr.  Cady,  he  remarked  that  he  considered  them 
of  little  merit,  holding  the  latter  piece,  however, 
as  the  best.  The  last  two  did  not  reach  a  heavy 
sale,  and  Mr.  Work  was  deeply  disappointed  be- 
cause "Life  Beyond  the  Veil"  was  not  appreciated. 
"My  Grandfather's  Clock"  was  a  success  from  the 
start,  and  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  copies  were 
sold. 

After  the  appearance  of  "My  Grandfather's 
Clock"  in  the  latter  part  of  1875,  Mr.  Work 
seemed  to  lead  an  aimless  life.  This  was  his  last 
song  worthy  of  mention.  He  lived  in  self-imposed 
retirement  in  New  York  City,  and  at  times  went 
to  Hartford,  Conn.,  to  visit  his  aged  mother,  and 
it  was  on  one  of  these  occasions  that  he  was  taken 


148    STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

unexpectedly  ill,  and  passed  away  on  the  8th  of 
June,  1884. 

It  has  been  written  that  there  is  a  way  to  make 
life  so  true  that  when  "the  sunset  is  nearing,  with 
its  murky  vapor  and  lowering  skies,  the  very  clouds 
of  sorrow  may  be  fringed  with  golden  light."  But 
Mr.  Work  could  not  find  that  way,  neither  could 
he  understand  the  philosophy  which  teaches  that 
adversity  is  sent  for  our  instruction.  The  rarest 
birds  are  those  that  sing  sweetest  in  time  of  storm ; 
and  the  songs  which  have  the  most  powerful  hold 
on  human  affection  and  will  longest  endure,  have 
come  from  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  when 
their  sorrows  were  keenest  and  life's  way  darkest. 
But,  unfortunately,  Work  could  not  command 
himself  in  the  storm  of  disappointment,  and  was 
beaten  back;  and  the  voice  that  once  sang  for  the 
inspiration  of  the  Union  in  the  winter  of  war  was 
silent  in  the  winter  of  his  own  life. 


OLD  SHADY. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OLD  SHADY THE  FAMOUS  SINGING  COOK. 

EEHAPS  the  most  fun-provoking  song 
of  the  Civil  War  is  "Old  Shady." 
With  a  fine  bass  or  baritone  voice  be- 
hind it,  it  is  over-running  with  laugh- 
ter. To  announce  the  piece  at  a  war  song  concert, 
or  at  a  public  entertainment  of  any  kind,  is  to 
create  a  flutter  of  pleasant  anticipation  and  to 
signify  to  the  auditors  that  merriment  may  have 
full  swing. 

During  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  in  May  and 
June  of  1863,  a  great  many  slaves  had  escaped 
within  the  Union  lines.  Some  of  them  were  hired 
by  the  officers  in  various  departments  of  the  army, 
and  many  others  were  given  free  transportation 
North.  Among  those  serving  as  cooks  was  a  slave, 
almost  white,  who  was  known  by  the  name  of  "Old 
Shady."  He  was  employed  at  the  headquarters 
of  General  McPherson  during  the  siege,  and  was 


150    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

a  fine  specimen  of  simple,  honest  manhood.  Gen- 
eral Sherman,  in  an  article  in  the  North  Ameri- 
can Review,  says  "Old  Shady"  was  a  poet  in  the 
rough.  After  supper,  the  officers  at  headquarters, 
including  several  generals,  and  Mrs.  Grant  and 
Mrs.  Sherman,  would  assemble  to  hear  him  and 
his  chorus  of  darkies  sing.  One  of  the  songs  be- 
came very  popular,  and  was  personal  to  the  negro 
cook,  entitled,  "Day  of  Jubilee,"  but  now  better 
known  as  "Old  Shady,"  which  ran  thus : 

Oh,  yah,  yah,  darkies  laugh  wid  me, 
Fur  de  white  folks  say  Ole  Shady's  free, 
So  don't  you  see  dat  de  jubilee 
Is  a-coming,  coming — Hail  mighty  day! 

CHORUS. 

Den  away,  den  away,  I  can't  stay  here  no  longer, 
Den  away,  den  away,  for  I  am  going  home. 

Oh,  mass'  got  scared  and  so  did  his  lady, 
Dis  chile  breaks  fur  Ole  Uncle  Aby; 
"Open  de  gates,  out  here's  Old  Shady 
A-coming,  coming" — Hail  mighty  day! 

Goodby  Mass'  Jeff,  goodby  Mis'r  Stephens, 
'Scuse  dis  niggah  fur  takin'  his  leavins, 
'Spect  purty  soon  you'll  hear  Uncle  Abram's 
Coming,  coming — Hail  mighty  day! 

Goodby,  hard  work,  wid  never  any  pay, 
I'ze  a-gwine  up  north  where  de  good  folks  say 
Dat  white  wheat  bread  and  a  dollar  a  day 
Are  coming,  coming — Hail  mighty  day! 


OLD  SHADY THE  FAMOUS  SINGING  COOK.    151 

Oh,  I've  got  a  wife  and  I've  got  a  baby, 
Livin'  up  yonder  in  Lower  Canady, 
Won't  dey  laugh  when  dey  see  Ole  Shady 
A-coming,  coming — Hail  mighty  day! 

General  Sherman,  speaking  of  "Old  Shady/' 
says:  "I  do  not  believe  that  since  the  Prophet 
Jeremiah  bade  the  Jews  to  sing  with  gladness  for 
Jacob,  and  to  shout  among  the  chiefs  of  the  na- 
tions, because  of  their  deliverance  from  the  house 
of  bondage,  any  truer  song  of  gladness  ever  as- 
cended from  the  lips  of  man  than  at  Vicksburg, 
where  'Old  Shady'  sang  for  us  in  a  voice  of  pure 
melody  this  song  of  deliverance  from  the  bonds  of 
slavery." 

The  general  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  negro 
character,  because,  as  a  rule,  the  colored  people 
were  kind  and  respectful;  and  he  quotes  Henry 
Clay  as  saying  that  his  colored  boy,  whose  name 
is  now  forgotten,  was  "the  most  accomplished  gen- 
tleman in  America."  General  Sherman  then 
adds :  "What  more  beautiful  sentiment  than  that 
of  my  acquaintance,  'Old  Shady' :  'Good-bye, 
Mass'  Jeff ;'  'good-bye,  Mis'r  Stephens ;'  '  'scuse 
dis  niggah  for  takin'  his  leavin's' — polite  and 
gentle  to  the  end.  Burns  never  said  anything 
better." 

The  name  of  "Old  Shady"  was  D.  Blakeley 


152    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Durant,  and  after  the  war  he  got  his  "wife  and 
nice  little  -baby  out  of  the  lower  Canady"  and 
worked  on  an  upper  Mississippi  steamboat.  Gen- 
eral Sherman  once  met  him  on  one  of  the  river 
steamers,  when  "he  sang  from  the  hurricane  deck 
that  good  old  song,  which  brought  tears  to  the  eyes 
of  the  passengers.  I  believe  him  now  dead,  but 
living  or  dead,  he  has  the  love  and  respect  of  the 
old  army  of  the  Tennessee  which  gave  him  free- 
dom. 'Good-bye,  Massa'  Jeff;  good-bye,  Massa' 
Stephens/  was  a  beautiful  expression  of  the  faith- 
ful family  servant  who  yearned  for  freedom  and 
a  'dollar  a  day.' '  General  Sherman's  article  for 
the  Review  was  written  in  1888,  and  Durant  did 
not  die  until  1896.  After  working  on  the  river 
boats  for  some  time,  he  settled  at  North  Forks, 
North  Dakota,  where  he  established  a  comfortable 
home,  and  where  one  of  his  daughters  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  North  Dakota  state  university. 

The  tune  to  which  the  words  of  "Old  Shady" 
are  now  sung  was  composed  by  B.  R.  Hanby,  an 
interesting  character  and  a  man  of  great  musical 
talent.  He  wrote  "Darling  Nellie  Gray,"  by 
which  he  is  best  known.  He  was  just  beginning  to 
make  a  name  for  himself  in  the  musical  world, 
when  he  was  stricken  down  in  the  prime  of  young 
manhood. 


WALTER   KITTREDGE. 


CHAPTEK  XV. 


"TENTING  ON  THE  OLD  CAMP  GROUND." 


Sunday  evening  in  1896,  Mr. 
Grasheider  sang  "Tenting  on  the  Old 
Camp  Ground"  at  Trinity  Church, 
Chicago,  and  the  effect  on  the  audi- 
ence was  so  remarkable  that  it  called  out  an  edi- 
torial in  the  Tribune  on  the  influence  of  that 
popular  song  of  the  civil  war.  On  the  occa- 
sion referred  to,  the  song  moved  the  fountain  of 
tears  in  the  soldiers  and  others  who  were  present, 
recalling,  as  it  did,  many  a  scene  in  the  Southland 
in  the  old  battle  days,  so  long  ago,  and  yet  so  near. 
The  melody  is  of  that  peculiar  quality  which  will 
prevent  the  song  from  ever  growing  too  old  to 
reach  the  emotions  of  the  human  heart. 

In  December,  1894,  I  lectured  in  Music  Hall, 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  on  "The  Story  of  Patriotic 
Songs."  A  special  feature  of  the  program  was  the 
singing  of  some  of  the  great  battle  hymns  and  na- 


154    STOEIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

tional  songs  whose  history  and  illustrations  of  their 
influence  were  given  in  the  lecture.  The  audi- 
ence was  quite  large,  and  among  those  who  honored 
me  with  their  presence  were  members  from  three 
ex-Confederate  posts.  After  giving  the  story  of 
"Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground,"  Captain 
Henry,  a  popular  singer,  and  editor  of  a  soldier's 
paper,  began  the  song  in  a  tone  full  of  genuine 
feeling.  The  audience  was  requested  to  join  in 
the  refrain: 

"Many  are  the  hearts  that  are  weary  to-night, 
Wishing  for  the  war  to  cease." 

It  was  extremely  affecting  to  hear  that  large 
gathering  of  old  soldiers  of  both  armies  give  ex- 
pression to  their  sentiment  by  singing  this  song 
of  affection  with  a  perfect  unison  of  hearts  as  well 
as  of  voices.  I  cannot  recall  another  instance  when 
the  chorus  of  "Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground" 
was  sung  with  more  soul-feeling,  with  finer 
rhythm,  or  with  more  exquisite  harmony,  than  by 
that  audience  composed  of  the  Blue  and  the  Gray. 

Two  or  three  years  ago  the  Chicago  Inter- 
Ocean  printed  several  communications  on  the 
authorship  of  this  song.  One  writer  claimed  that 
it  was  written  on  the  night  of  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek  Hill,  Va.,  and  that  Kittredge  wrote  the 
words,  while  his  comrade,  named  Russell,  com- 


"TENTING  ON  THE  OLD  CAMP  GROUND."     155 

posed  the  music.  In  order  to  get  the  story  of  the 
song  stripped  of  all  fiction,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Kit- 
tredge, requesting  the  essential  facts  connected 
with  its  birth,  and  on  the  2d  of  May,  1897,  he 
wrote  from  his  home  at  Reed's  Ferry,  N".  H.,  as 
follows : 

"I  take  this  time  to  give  you  a  little  history  of  Tenting 
on  the  Old  Camp  Ground.'  I  wrote  the  words  and  music 
at  the  same  time  one  evening,  soon  expecting  to  go  down 
South  to  join  the  boys  in  blue,  and  I  desired  to  have  some- 
thing to  sing  for  them,  as  that  had  been  my  profession, 
giving  concerts  for  a  few  years  before  the  war.  I  think  I 
wrote  the  song  in  tears,  thinking  of  my  wife  and  little 
daughter;  but  I  was  not  accepted  when  examined  by  the 
physician.  He  thought  I  could  do  my  part  better  to  sing 
for  Uncle  Sam,  so  I  kept  writing  and  singing  for  Liberty 
and  Union.  The  song  was  composed  in  1863,  and  published 
by  Ditson,  Boston,  in  1864. 

"WALTEB  KITTBEDGE." 

Mr.  Kittredge  was  born  in  Merrimac,  "N.  H., 
in  1832.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  began  to  give 
ballad  concerts,  and  four  years  later  he  sang  with 
Joshua  Hutchinson,  of  the  noted  Hutchinson 
family.  After  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  he  com- 
piled a  "Union  Song  Book,"  which  was  only  a 
moderate  success.  His  only  composition  which  had 
merit  enough  to  keep  it  alive  is  "Tenting  on  the 
Old  Camp  Ground."  Like  many  other  singers, 
Kittredge  is  a  "poet"  of  one  song  only,  and  his 


156    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

fame  rests  solely  upon  the  product  of  a  sudden 
"inspiration" — if  that  term  is  permissible  in  this 
connection. 

"Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground"  is  not  an 
animating  battle  piece,  of  course,  but  is  peculiarly 
touching  in  sentiment  and  plaintive  in  melody; 
and  many  thousands  of  soldiers,  in  the  monotony 
of  camp  life  and  on  weary  marches,  when  thoughts 
of  home  burdened  the  mind,  found  relief  in  its 
pathetic  tones  and  in  the  delightful  harmony  of 
the  chorus.  Such  a  song  has  a  powerful  hold  upon 
human  feelings.  It  touches  the  better  part  of  our 
natures,  and  "Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground," 
though  not  a  song  that  has  made  exciting  history, 
will  be  long  and  affectionately  associated  with  the 
patriotic  struggle  for  liberty  and  Union. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

SONGS  OF  CHEEK  AND  PATHOS. 

MO1STG  the  fine  songs  of  cheer  which 
the  war  times  produced,  "When 
Johnny  Comes  Marching  Home"  was 
one  of  the  most  popular.  It  was  a 
great  favorite  in  the  homes  of  the  North,  and  no- 
where did  it  cause  more  genuine  merriment  than  in 
the  army  when  the  boys  were  either  on  the  march 
or  in  camp.  The  four  stanzas  are  as  follows : 

When  Johnnie  comes  marching  home   again, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
We'll  give  him  a  hearty  welcome  then, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 

The  men  will  cheer,  the  boys  will  shout, 
The  ladies  they  will  all  turn  out, 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay 
When  Johnnie  comes  marching  home. 

The  old  church  bell  will  peal  with  joy, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
To  welcome  home  our  darling  boy, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 


158    STORIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  village  lads  and  lassies  gay, 
With  roses  they  will  strew  the  way, 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay 
When  Johnnie  comes  marching  home. 

Get  ready  for  the  jubilee, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
We'll  give  the  hero  three  times  three, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
The  laurel  wreath  is  ready  now 
To  place  upon  his  loyal  brow, 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay 
When  Johnnie  comes  marching  home. 

Let  love  and  friendship  on  that  day, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
Their  choicest  treasures  then  display, 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 

And  let  each  other  perform  some  part, 
To  fill  with  joy  the  warrior's  heart, 
And  we'll  all  feel  gay 
When  Johnnie  comes  marching  home. 

In  all  the  war  song  books  in  which  "When 
Johnny  Comes  Marching  Home"  is  found,  the 
authorship  has  been  credited  to  "Louis  Lambert." 
The  reader  will  be  surprised,  perhaps,  to  know 
that  this  was  the  nom  de  plume  of  Patrick  S.  Gil- 
more,  the  great  bandmaster  and  projector  of  the 
Boston  Peace  Jubilee  of  1869  and  1872.  The 
song  was  written  in  1863,  and  its  rousing  refrain 
still  gives  it  a  hold  on  the  ears  of  the  people. 


ff 


SONGS   OF   CHEEK  AND   PATHOS.  159 

There  is  such  a  rattling  good  quality  in  the  music, 
that  it  has  found  its  way  in  several  European 
countries,  where  its  use  is  very  frequent. 

Mr.  Gilmore,  who  died  in  1892,  wrote  another 
song  during  the  war,  "Good  News  from  Home," 
which  gained  a  popularity  that  was  almost  world- 
wide for  several  years. 

There  were  two  songs  widely  sung  in  the  South 
as  well  as  in  the  North  during  the  war,  "When 
This  Cruel  War  is  Over,"  and  "Who  Will  Care  for 
Mother  Now  ?"  They  were  written  by  Charles  C. 
Sawyer  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  who  began 
writing  sonnets  when  he  was  twelve  years  old. 
During  the  war  he  composed  many  songs,  which, 
on  account  of  the  absence  of  sectional  or  party 
sentiment,  became  great  favorites  among  the  sol- 
diers of  both  armies. 

The  first  of  Mr.  Sawyer's  songs  is  entitled, 
"Weeping,  Sad  and  Lonely,"  but  is  more  generally 
known  as  "When  this  Cruel  War  is  Over" : 

Dearest  love,  do  you  remember 

When  we  last  did  meet, 
How  you  told  me  that  you  loved  me, 

Kneeling  at  my  feet? 
Oh,  how  proud  you  stood  before  me, 

In  your  suit  of  blue, 
When  you  vowed  to  me  and  country 

Ever  to  be  true. 


160          STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


CHOBUS. 

Weeping,  sad  and  lonely, 

Hopes  and  fears,  how  vain! 
Yet  praying,  when  this  cruel  war  is  over, 

Praying  that  we  meet  again! 

When  the  summer  breeze  is  sighing 

Mournfully  along, 
Or  when  autumn  leaves  are  falling, 

Sadly  breathes  the  song. 
Oft  in  dreams  I  see  thee  lying 

On  the  battle  plain, 
Lonely,  wounded,  even  dying, 

Calling,  but  in  vain. 

The  second  song,  "Who  Will  Care  for  Mother 
Now  ?"  is  as  follows : 

Why  am  I  so  weak  and  weary? 

See  how  faint  my  heated  breath. 
All  around  to  me  seems  darkness. 

Tell  me,  comrades,  is  this  death? 
Ah,  how  well  I  know  your  answer ! 

To  my  fate  I  meekly  bow, 
If  you'll  only  tell  me  truly 

Who  will  care  for  mother  now? 

CHOBUS. 

Soon  with  angels  I'll  be  marching, 

With  bright  laurels  on  my  brow; 
I  have  for  my  country  fallen. 

Who  will  care  for  mother  now? 


SONGS  OF  CHEER  AND  PATHOS.  -  161 

Who  will  comfort  her  in  sorrow? 

Who  will  dry  the  falling  tear, 
Gently  smooth  her  wrinkled  forehead? 

Who  will  whisper  words  of  cheer? 

Even  now  I  think  I  see  her 

Kneeling,  praying  for  me!     How 
Can  I  leave  her  in  her  anguish? 

Who  will  comfort  mother  now? 

Let  this  knapsack  be  my  pillow, 

And  my  mantle  be  the  sky; 
Hasten,  comrades,  to  the  battle, 

I  will  like  a  soldier  die. 
Soon  with  angels  I'll  be  marching, 

With  bright  laurels  on  my  brow, 
I  have  for  my  country  fallen, 

Who  will  care  for  mother  now? 

This  song  is  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  the 
recollection  of  a  bloody  battle.  Whether  this  is 
true  or  not,  makes  little  difference.  It  became 
immensely  popular,  and  it  is  claimed  that  these 
two  songs  and  "Mother  Would  Comfort  Me/7  also 
written  by  Mr.  Sawyer,  had  an  aggregate  sale  of 
three  million  copies  during  the  war. 

The  Federal  Union,  a  journal  published  at 
Milledgeville,  Ga.,  makes  the  following  comments 
on  Mr.  Sawyer's  songs  of  the  war:  "Charles 
Carroll  Sawyer  is  one  of  the  most  gifted  sons  of 
the  North.  His  songs  gush  from  his  soul  as 
naturally  as  the  water  gushes  from  the  mouatain 


162    STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

rock,  and  they  are  just  as  pure,  sweet,  and  refresh- 
ing. His  sentiments  are  fraught  with  the  greatest 
tenderness  and  never  one  word  has  he  written 
about  the  South  or  the  war  that  could  wound  the 
sore  chords  of  the  Southern  heart.  We  trust  that 
his  songs  will  be  sung  and  his  exquisite  airs  will 
be  warbled  and  played  throughout  our  sunny- 
regions,  and  that  the  heart  of  the  South  will  rise 
up  to  shake  hands  with  all  such  hearts  as  his  when- 
ever and  wherever  they  meet  them,  or  from  what- 
soever point  of  the  compass  they  hail." 

Mr.  Sawyer  was  a  very  useful  war  poet, 
although  he  did  not  write  anything  distinctively 
great  like  Julia  Ward  Howe,  George  F.  Root, 
Henry  0.  Work,  or  Walter  Kittredge.  But  his 
songs  served  a  noble  purpose,  and  their  kindly  in- 
fluence will  be  long  remembered.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Brooklyn,  October  3d,  1891,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight  years. 

The  incidents  given  in  the  preceding  pages 
show  how  important  is  the  history  made  by  these 
national  songs  and  battle  hymns.  The  story  of 
their  influence  should  never  grow  dull  to  the  Amer- 
ican people.  Like  the  deeds  of  devotion  and  hero- 
ism which  saved  the  Union,  these  songs  should  live 
forever  to  make  the  American  character  devoted 
and  heroic.  They  teach  the  highest  form  of 


SONGS   OF  CHEER  AND  PATHOS.  163 

patriotism,  from  which  young  men  and  women  of 
to-day  can  learn  much  which  will  inspire  higher 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

I  think  that  we  are  yet  too  near  the  civil  war 
to  comprehend  the  fulness  of  its  greatness,  or  the 
true  value  of  its  songs.  When  that  strife,  and  the 
patriotic  spirit  it  evoked,  are  a  long  distance  in 
the  past,  the  historians  will  write  of  these  grand 
songs  of  the  Union  in  a  way  which  will  make  them 
the  most  interesting  of  all  the  great  transactions  of 
history. 

In  part  adopting  the  sentiment  of  another, 
"this  America  of  ours  is  the  Mt.  Sinai  of  the  na- 
tions" ;  and  if  the  divine  law  of  liberty,  and  one 
flag,  and  an  inseverable  national  bond  of  patriot- 
ism and  unity  have  proceeded  out  of  the  terrible 
thunder  and  lightning  of  its  great  struggle,  it  is 
in  a  large  sense  because  the  grand  passions  of  the 
soul  in  that  conflict  found  expression  in  songs  of 
mighty  power,  which  inspired  loyalty  and  courage, 
and  made  the  way  to  victory  easier. 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

"HOME,  SWEET  HOME." 

IANCOLELLI,  the  celebrated  buffoon, 
kept  Paris  audiences  in  a  roar  of 
laughter,  while  he  himself  was  dying 
with  melancholy.  Work  wrote  the 
most  gladsome  song  of  the  rebellion  period, 
"Marching  Through  Georgia,"  but  was  the  sad- 
dest of  all  our  war  poets.  Blacklock,  in  his 
majestic  hymn,  "Gome,  O  My  soul!  in  Sacred 
Lays,"  had  a  beautiful  conception  of  God  in  the 
stars  and  "enthroned  amid  the  radiant  spheres," 
but  he  never  saw  the  glory  of  the  stars,  the 
beauty  of  a  summer  sky,  or  the  splendor  of  the 
noonday  sun.  Payne  wrote  the  loveliest  home  song 
the  world  ever  sang,  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  but 
not  after  the  age  of  thirteen,  when  his  mother  died, 
did  he  know  what  it  was  to  have  a  home,  and  closed 
his  strange  life  on  the  distant  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean. 


JOHN   HOWARD  PAYNE. 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME.*'  165 

John  Howard  Payne  was  born  in  the  city  of 
New  York  in  1792.  At  a  very  early  age  he  devel- 
oped a  taste  for  literature  and  the  stage.  At  seven- 
teen he  appeared  at  the  old  Park  theater  in  New 
York,  and  filled  many  engagements  in  other  cities 
as  the  "American  Juvenile  Wonder."  He  went  to 
England  when  twenty-one,  and  afterwards  to 
France,  and  remained  abroad  for  twenty  years. 
In  Paris  he  took  up  his  abode  in  a  garret  on  the 
topmost  story  of  the  house,  and  although  he  seems 
to  have  met  with  fair  success  in  London,  he  was 
poor,  and  many  times  wretched.  During  his  years 
in  London  and  Paris  he  appears  to  have  been  dili- 
gent in  the  business  of  writing  dramas,  particu- 
larly translating  from  the  French.  A  batch  of 
these  adaptations  was  sold  to  Charles  Kemble  of 
Covent  Garden  theater,  London,  in  1823,  for 
£230,  of  that  amount  £30  being  paid  for  "Clari; 
or  the  Maid  of  Milan."  It  was  in  this  opera  that 
one  song  was  found  that  melted  the  heart  of  Lon- 
don and  of  the  world,  and  the  plaintive  melody  is 
everywhere  familiar,  and  everywhere  its  tender 
pathos  invests  with  affectionate  regard  the  memory 
of  John  Howard  Payne: 

'Mid  pleasures  and  palaces  though  we  may  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home ! 
A  charm  from  the  skies  seems  to  hallow  us  there, 


166       STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Which,  seek  through  the  world,  is  n'er  met  with  elsewhere, 

Home!  home!  sweet,  sweet  home! 
There's  no  place  like  home;  there's  no  place  like  home. 

An  exile  from  home  splendor  dazzles  in  vain, 

Oh!  give  me  my  lowly,  thatch'd  cottage  again; 

The  birds  singing  gaily,  that  come  at  my  call; 

Give  me  them,  with  the  peace  of  mind,  dearer  than  all. 

Home!  home!  sweet,  sweet  home! 
There's  no  place  like  home;  there's  no  place  like  home. 

How  sweet  'tis  to  sit  'neath  a  fond  father's  smile, 
And  the  cares  of  a  mother  to  soothe  and  beguile. 
Let  others  delight  'mid  new  pleasures  to  roam, 
But  give  me,  Oh!  give  me  the  pleasures  of  home. 

Home!  home!  sweet,  sweet  home! 
But  give,  me,  Oh!  give  me  the  pleasures  of  home. 

To  thee  I'll  return,  over-burdened  with  care, 
The  heart's  dearest  solace  will  smile  on  me  there; 
No  more  from  that  cottage  again  will  I  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home. 

Home!  home!  sweet,  sweet  home! 
There's  no  place  like  home;  there's  no  place  like  home. 

The  opera  was  enormously  prosperous  and 
made  fortunes  for  all  concerned  in  it  except  the 
always  unfortunate  and  dependent  writer  of  the 
song. 

There  has  been  much  controversy  over  the 
authorship  of  the  beautiful  melody  of  "Home, 
Sweet  Home/'  and  to  enter  into  a  discussion  as  to 
who  was  the  composer,  would  be  needless,  as  it 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME."  167 

would  be  uninteresting.  It  is  sufficient  to  quote 
a  brief  article  from  Charles  Mackay,  the  distin- 
guished English  poet  and  journalist.  In  writing 
to  the  London  Telegraph,  he  says:  "With  the 
view  of  putting  an  end  to  these  controversies  about 
the  authorship  of  the  melody  of  'Home,  Sweet 
Home'  once  for  all,  I  write  this  letter  to  prove  to 
the  most  incredulous  that  the  air  is  English,  and 
was  the  composition  of  the  very  eminent  and  gifted 
musician,  the  late  Sir  Henry  R.  Bishop.  In  one 
of  the  many  conversations  on  well-known  English 
melodies  with  that  gentleman,  I  took  occasion  to 
ask  him  for  information  on  the  subject  of  'Home, 
Sweet  Home,7  the  authorship  of  which  was  often 
attributed  to  him,  and  as  often  denied  by  many, 
who  claimed  it  as  a  national  Sicilian  air  which  Sir 
Henry  had  discovered  and  rearranged.  He  there- 
fore favored  me  with  the  whole  history.  He  had 
been  engaged  in  his  early  boyhood  to  edit  a  collec- 
tion of  the  national  melodies  of  all  countries.  In 
the  course  of  his  labors  he  discovered  that  he  had 
no  Sicilian  melody  worthy  of  reproduction,  and 
Sir  Henry  thought  he  would  invent  one.  The  re- 
sult was  the  now  well-known  air  of  Home,  Sweet 
Home/  which  he  composed  to  the  verses  of  an 
American  author,  Mr.  Howard  Payne,  then  resid- 
ing in  England.  When  the  collection  was  pub- 


168    STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

lished  the  melody  became  so  popular  that,  to  use 
a  common  phrase,  'it  took  the  town  by  storm,'  and 
several  musical  publishers,  believing  it  to  be  Sici- 
lian, and  non-copyrighted,  reissued  it." 

The  universality  of  the  words  made  the  song 
greatly  successful;  and  one  authority  has  it  that 
one  hundred  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  a  single 
year,  and  that  within  two  years  after  its  publica- 
tion the  song  had  yielded  the  original  publishers 
a  net  profit  of  $10,000.  It  secured  for  Miss  M. 
Tree,  who  was  the  first  person  to  sing  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  a  husband,  and  a  mansion  filled 
with  plenty;  while  the  writer  of  the  song  was  in 
a  lonely  and  almost  hopeless  struggle  with  pinch- 
ing want.  It  is  claimed  that  he  not  only  lost  the 
£25  which  was  to  have  been  paid  him  for  the  copy- 
right on  the  twentieth  performance  of  the  "Maid 
of  Milan,"  but  was  not  even  complimented  with  a 
copy  of  his  own  song  by  the  publishers. 

Payne  continued  his  residence  in  London  until 
1832,  when  his  ill-success  led  him  to  return  to  the 
United  States.  In  New  York,  and  several  other 
cities,  he  was  honored  with  several  substantial  ben- 
efits. Although  he  was  a  fair  actor  in  certain  char- 
acters, and  a  dramatist  of  no  mean  ability,  he 
seems  to  have  been  inclined  to  the  heresy  that  the 
world  owed  him  a  living.  With  all  his  varied  tal- 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME."  169 

ents,  which  were  ample  enough  to  give  him  success 
in  his  profession  if  rightly  applied,  the  eight  or 
nine  years  following  his  return  to  this  country 
show  an  unsatisfactory  record. 

In  1841  he  visited  Washington  and  made 
application  for  a  position  in  the  consular  service. 
He  was  a  burden  to  his  friends,  and  the  adminis- 
tration hesitated  to  entrust  a  consulate  in  his 
hands.  One  day  while  Mr.  Webster,  secretary  of 
state,  was  temporarily  absent,  his  son,  Fletcher — 
then  his  private  secretary  and  afterwards  com- 
mander of  the  famous  Twelfth  Massachusetts,  the 
"John  Brown"  regiment  of  the  civil  war — 
appointed  Payne  consul  to  Tunis,  in  Northern 
Africa.  This  caused  no  end  of  trouble.  Full  of 
the  dignity  of  his  office,  he  wanted  the  government 
to  convey  him  to  the  scene  of  his  future  labors  in 
a  vessel  of  war.  President  Tyler  denied  the  re- 
quest, and  Payne  was  in  a  state  of  despair,  and  it 
was  only  by  the  aid  of  his  friends  that  he  was  able 
to  cross  the  Atlantic.  He  was  next  heard  of  in 
Paris,  destitute,  and  living  on  a  friend.  An  Amer- 
ican who  had  met  Payne  in  Washington,  but  was 
only  slightly  acquainted  with  him,  loaned  him 
money  enough  to  carry  him  to  Tunis.  His  admin- 
istration of  the  office  of  consul  was  more  in  the 
nature  of  a  farce  than  serious  diplomatic  business, 


170    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

and  shortly  after  President  Polk  was  inaugurated 
in  184:5,  Payne  was  relieved  and  returned  to  the 
United  States.  During  the  following  six  years  he 
subsisted  mainly  on  the  hospitality  of  his  friends, 
and  partly  on  his  deficient  income  from  his  contri- 
butions to  the  press. 

It  was  during  the  closing  part  of  his  last  visit 
to  this  country,  in  December,  1850,  that  Payne 
witnessed  the  most  brilliant  and  soul-stirring  scene 
in  all  the  course  of  his  checkered  life.  Jenny 
Lind,  under  the  management  of  P.  T.  Barnum, 
was  making  her  triumphant  tour  through 
the  United  States.  She  gave  her  two  concerts 
in  Washington,  and  one  of  them  was  heard 
in  the  hall  of  the  house  of  representatives. 
The  audience  at  the  capitol  represented  the 
finest  ability  in  the  land.  President  Eillmore 
and  family,  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  judges 
of  the  supreme  court,  senators  and  representa- 
tives, and  foreign  ambassadors  were  among  those 
who  had  assembled  to  hear  the  sweetest  song 
angel  the  world  had  ever  produced.  The  Phila- 
delphia Record  of  that  time  gave  an  interesting 
account  of  the  event:  "ISTo  common  poet  ever  re- 
ceived a  more  enviable  compliment  than  was  paid 
to  John  Howard  Payne  by  Jenny  Lind  on  her  last 
visit  to  his  native  land.  It  was  in  the  great  na- 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME.'*  171 

tional  hall  of  the  city  of  Washington  where  the 
most  distinguished  audience  that  had  ever  been 
seen  in  the  capital  of  the  republic  was  assembled. 
The  matchless  singer  entranced  the  vast  throng 
with  her  most  exquisite  melodies — 'Casta  Diva/ 
the  Tlute  Song/  the  'Bird  Song/  and  'Greeting 
to  America.'  But  the  great  feature  of  the  occasion 
seemed  to  be  an  act  of  inspiration.  The  singer 
suddenly  turned  her  face  to  the  part  of  the  audi- 
torium where  Payne  was  sitting,  and  sang  'Home, 
Sweet  Home'  with  such  pathos  and  power  that  a 
whirlwind  of  excitement  and  enthusiasm  swept 
through  the  vast  audience.  Daniel  Webster  him- 
self almost  lost  his  self-control,  and  one  might 
readily  imagine  that  Payne  thrilled  with  rapture 
at  this  unexpected  and  magnificent  rendition  of 
his  own  immortal  lyric." 

The  spirit  of  Payne  was  ever  restless,  and  a 
Whig  administration  having  come  into  power  since 
his  removal  from  office  in  1845,  he  asked  for  a 
diplomatic  post  more  in  harmony  with  his  desires 
than  that  in  Africa,  but  in  this  he  failed,  and  was 
returned  to  Tunis  in  1851  by  President  Fillmore. 
But  his  tenure  of  office  was  brief,  his  death  having 
occurred  on  the  10th  of  April,  1852.  He  was 
buried  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  George  at  Tunis,  and 


STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


a  suitable  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory, 
which  bore  this  inscription  : 

"In  memory  of  Colonel  John  Howard  Payne, 
twice  consul  of  the  United  States  of  America  for 
the  city  and  kingdom  of  Tunis,  this  stone  is  here 
placed  by  a  grateful  country.  He  died  in  the 
American  Consulate  in  this  city  after  a  tedious 
illness,  April  10,  1852." 

But  Payne's  "restlessness  did  not  end  with  his 
life."  His  ashes  no  longer  lie  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  In  1883,  through  the  beneficence 
of  William  W.  Corcoran,  the  noted  philanthropist, 
of  Washington,  the  remains  of  Payne  were  borne 
across  the  sea  in  a  French  steamer  to  find  a  resting 
place  in  the  capital  city  of  his  native  land.  The 
burial  took  place  in  Oak  Hill  cemetery,  on  a  beau- 
tiful Sunday,  the  10th  of  June,  1883,  and  the  ben- 
ediction of  the  ceremony  was  the  blending  of  one 
thousand  voices  and  instruments  in  the  immortal 
melody  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home." 

The  city  of  Washington  had  seen  many  funeral 
pageants,  but  none  more  striking  than  that  of  the 
re-interment  of  the  man  who  had  died  long  ago, 
far  from  his  native  land,  unnoticed  and  unknown. 
Presidents  and  senators  and  statesmen  of  every  de- 
gree had  been  borne  through  the  streets  with  every 
sign  of  respectful  sorrow,  but  never  was  a  dead 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME.  173 

poet,  famous  only  for  a  single  song,  so  honored. 
"There  are  hundreds  of  monuments  of  distin- 
guished men  in  Washington  who  were  very  con- 
spicuous, and  some  of  whom  performed  great  and 
memorable  services.  But  no  monument  there  will 
be  visited  by  a  greater  throng  of  pilgrims,  and  no 
memory  will  appeal  more  tenderly  to  all  of  them, 
than  that  of  the  wandering  actor  who  lived  and 
died  alone,  and  of  whom  nothing  is  remembered 
but  that  he  wrote  one  song." 

An  odd  story  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home"  has 
been  going  the  rounds  of  the  papers  during  the 
past  few  years,  and  has  been  copied  approvingly 
by  such  estimable  publications  as  the  Youth's  Com- 
panion and  the  New  York  Christian  Advocate. 
Briefly  told,  the  story  is  as  follows : 

"The  first  time  that  the  tender  lyric,  'Home, 
Sweet  Home/  was  sung  in  public  was  when  an  In- 
dian, brooding  over  the  death  of  his  beloved  squaw 
and  papoose,  committed  suicide  on  the  spot  where 
they  were  buried. 

"It  was  a  time  when  the  boundary  lines  be- 
tween Georgia  and  Tennessee  were  in  dispute,  and 
the  half-breeds  were  constantly  making  trouble. 
In  order  to  harmonize  contending  factions,  our 
government  established  a  trading  post  there.  John 
Howard  Payne  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  on  sus- 


STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


picion  of  inciting  the  Indians  to  insubordination, 
was  arrested  and  carried  to  the  council  house. 

"With  others  he  witnessed  the  burial  of  the 
heart-broken  Indian,  and  began  softly  singing  to 
himself  the  song  which  has  since  echoed  through 
every  land  on  earth."  The  sequel  is  told  by  the 
Atlanta  Constitution  in  these  words  : 

"General  Bishop,  who  had  kept  a  close 
scrutiny  on  his  actions,  heard  the  song  and  called 
Payne  to  him. 

"  'Young  man/  said  the  stern  old  Indian 
fighter,  'where  did  you  learn  that  song  ? 

"  'I  wrote  that  song  myself/  replied  Payne. 

"  'And  where  did  you  get  the  tune  ?' 

"  'I  composed  that  also.' 

"  'Would  you  let  me  have  a  copy  of  it  ?' 

"  'Certainly  I  will.' 

"  'Well,  a  man  who  can  sing  and  write  like  that 
is  no  incendiary.  Appearances  may  be  against 
you,  but  I  am  going  to  set  you  free.  I  shall  write 
out  your  discharge  immediately,  and  a  pass  to 
carry  you  anywhere  you  choose  through  the 
nation.' 

"Payne  had  been  housed  at  the  home  of  a 
family  living  near  by,  and  on  his  return  there  he 
exhibited  his  pass  and  related  the  circumstances. 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME."  1Y5 

That  was  the  first  time  that  'Home,  Sweet  Home' 
had  ever  been  sung  in  public." 

The  sentiment  of  the  story  may  be  charming, 
but  the  whole  transaction,  as  related  by  the  Con- 
stitution,, is  a  piece  of  wretched  fiction.  The  nar- 
rative does  not  rise  to  the  level  of  even  tradition 
or  legend.  That  such  an  incident  could  not  have 
taken  place  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  Payne  went 
to  Europe  in  1813,  when  he  was  twenty-one  years 
old,  and  remained  there  until  1832.  lie  wrote 
"Home,  Sweet  Home"  in  Paris  when  making  a 
translation  of  the  "Maid  of  Milan,"  and  the  song 
was  first  sung  at  Covent  Garden  theater,  London, 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1823.  When  Payne  first 
visited  the  United  States  after  writing  the  song,  he 
was  forty  years  old,  and  therefore  could  not  be  the 
young  man  of  the  Indian  story.  More  than  that, 
Payne  never  was  so  idiotic  as  to  claim  that  he  com- 
posed the  melody  of  the  song. 

The  following  incident  illustrating  the  tri- 
umph of  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  is  a  fitting  close 
to  the  story  of  the  song : 

In  Northern  Georgia  during  the  civil  war  the 
two  great  armies  confronted  each  other,  and  had 
rested  on  their  arms  for  the  night.  Their  skir- 
mishing lines  had  met  during  the  day,  and  a  battle 
was  imminent  on  the  morrow.  At  eight  o'clock 


1Y6    STORIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

one  of  the  Federal  bands  struck  up  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner/7  which  evoked  prolonged  cheers 
from  the  Union  side.  When  its  echoes  were 
lost  in  the  distance  the  Confederate  bands  started 
the  sprightly  air  of  "Dixie,"  which  was  welcomed 
with  a  vigorous  Southern  yell.  The  Federals  re- 
plied with  "Hail  Columbia/'  and  in  quick  response 
came  "Maryland,  My  Maryland."  "Yankee 
Doodle"  then  broke  out  upon  the  evening  air ;  the 
other  side  sent  back  the  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag,"  and 
the  surrounding  hills  echoed  with  the  "Battle 
Hymn  of  the  Republic."  The  moments  of  im- 
pressive silence  which  followed  this  friendly  con- 
test of  war  tunes  %were  broken  only  by  the  Con- 
federate bands,  when  "calm  on  the  listening  ear  of 
night,"  came  the  soft,  sweet  strains  of  "Home, 
Sweet  Home."  Its  exquisite  sentiment,  its  pa- 
thetic tenderness,  vividly  recalled  to  the  minds  of 
the  soldiers  the  dearest  spot  on  earth,  where  they 
had  left  their  hearts ;  and  the  Union  bands  joined 
in  the  music  of  the  universal  song.  For  the  mo- 
ment sectional  lines  were  obliterated,  and  passion 
was  softened  by  the  controlling  and  melting  tones 
of  the  world's  great  refrain : 

"Home!  home!  sweet,  sweet  home! 
There's  no  place  like  home ;  there's  no  place  like  home." 


"HOME,  SWEET  HOME."  177 

Then  followed  an  outburst  of  applause  from  the 
Blue  and  the  Gray,  and  for  once  their  hearts  beat 
in  unison,  and  the  voices  of  the  two  armies  rose  in 
sweet  concord  in  that  deathless  song  which  goes  to 
the  human  heart  wherever  love  and  home  are 
known.  There  was  no  other  power  outside  of  the 
realm  of  the  miraculous  but  "Home,  Sweet 
Home/7  that  could  have  united  the  hearts  and 
voices  of  these  two  hostile  armies. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 


SONGS  OF  THE  SOUTH "DIXIE." 


WO  or  three  years  ago  the  Southern 
papers  were  discussing  the  interesting 
fact  that  comparatively  few  of  the 
songs  of  the  South  are  the  products 
of  Southern  writers.  A  woman  long  a  resident 
of  Tennessee,  and  who  has  given  the  subject 
much  careful  study,  says  the  characteristic  South- 
ern songs,  such  as  "Suwannee  Kiver,"  "Old 
Folks  at  Home,"  "Nellie  Gray,"  "Massa's  in  the 
Cold,  Cold  Ground,"  and  other  familiar  songs 
cherished  by  Southern  people,  were  written  in  the 
North.  She  adds  that  even  the  "Mocking  Bird," 
and  the  beautiful  music  of  "Maryland,  My  Mary- 
land," were  written  by  a  Philadelphian,  and  that 
the  composer  of  "Dixie"  is  a  man  who,  so  far  as 
known,  never  lived  in  Dixie. 

It  is  extraordinary  that  the  South,  with  its 
well  known  literary  taste,  should  be  deficient  in 


*  if 


DANIEL  D.  EMMETT. 


SONGS    OF    THE    SOUTH "DIXIE."  179 

songs.  The  explanation  given  by  The  Nashville 
Banner  is  the  lack  of  musical  education  among  the 
men  of  the  South.  Musical  advantages  are  offered 
to  the  Southern  girls,  but  Southern  young  men  are 
seldom  encouraged  to  take  a  musical  education. 
The  Banner  evidently  believes  that  the  successful 
song  writers  are  limited  to  the  male  persuasion. 
While  there  are  some  notable  exceptions,  history 
shows  this  to  be  substantially  true.  It  is,  neverthe- 
less, a  little  remarkable,  as  one  writer  says,  that  a 
great  section  of  the  country,  having  such  distinc- 
tive traits  and  characteristics,  should  be  so  little 
represented  by  native  song  writers. 

It  is  conceded  on  all  hands  that  "Dixie"  is  the 
most  popular  of  the  songs  of  the  South.  It  was 
not  a  product  of  the  war,  and  was  not  made  in  the 
South ;  but  a  peculiar  and  fortuitous  circumstance 
led  to  its  adoption  by  the  Confederate  army  in 
1861,  and  it  soon  carried  the  people  into  a  state 
of  impassioned  emotion,  and  to-day  its  popularity 
is  so  great  that  in  reality  it  has  become  one  of  the 
songs  of  the  Union.  President  Lincoln  had  great 
admiration  for  the  tune,  possibly  because  he  heard 
it  sung  to  Republican  words  in  the  never-to-be 
forgotten  campaign  of  1860.  Shortly  after  the 
surrender  at  Appomattox,  he  requested  the  band 
to  play  "Dixie,"  pleasantly  remarking  that  "as  we 


180    STOKIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

have  captured  the  Confederate  army,  we  have  also 
captured  the  Confederate  tune,  and  both  belong 
to  us." 

There  has  been  considerable  dispute  over  the 
authorship  of  "Dixie/'  and  to  make  its  interesting 
story  as  clear  and  concise  as  possible,  and  at  the 
same  time  true  to  history,  I  quote  from  an  article 
written  in  1895  by  Mr.  Edward  W.  Bok,  the  dis- 
tinguished editor  of  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal, 
and  first  published,  I  believe,  in  the  Pittsburg 
Dispatch : 

"It  is  a  fact  not  widely  known  that  Daniel  D. 
Enimett,  the  venerable  and  retired  minstrel,  author 
of  'Dixie/  is  now  living  in  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio. 
If  he  survives  another  anniversary  of  his  birth  he 
will  round  out  eighty  years,  having  been  born  in 
the  place  where  he  lives  on  October  29,  1815. 

"Emmett  is  full  of  little  anecdotes  of  the  two 
great  Shermans,  William  T.  and  John,  who  used 
to  go  to  school  at  Gambier,  near  Mount  Yernon, 
and  has  many  fond  recollections  of  romps  about 
the  hills  with  them,  of  the  great  times  they  had  at 
playing  'shinney/  and  how  the  Sherman  boys  were 
never  allowed  both  to  be  on  the  same  side,  for  they 
were  both  leaders  and  were  better  separated  and 
leading  opposite  forces. 

"Mr.  Emmett  says  that  it  was  a  fashion  in 


SONGS    OF    THE    SOUTIT "DIXIE/'  181 

those  days  among  the  young  people  to  try  their 
skill  at  making  verses  and  to  sing  them  to  some 
popular  tune.  ' Jim  Crow'  was  a  favorite  in  those 
days,  and  the  boys  and  girls  found  great  delight 
in  fitting  and  rhyming  words  to  sing  to  that  tune. 
In  this  way,  Mr.  Emmett  formed  a  taste  for  verse- 
making  and  singing,  which  later  led  him  to  min- 
strelsy. Mr.  Emmett  made  his  own  verses  and 
sang  them  to  some  popular  tune.  He  traveled  all 
over  the  United  States,  and  was  the  favorite  min- 
strel everywhere  he  went.  His  understanding  of 
the  negro  dialect  was  perfect,  as  was  likewise  his 
rendering.  His  love  of  minstrelsy  is  still  visible 
in  him.  His  voice  is  thoroughly  trained  to  the 
sweet  tone  of  the  melodious  darky's  voice,  and  a 
few  old  darky  expressions  and  songs  from  him 
show  at  once  that  he  has  not  lost  his  old-time 
understanding  of  them. 

"  'Dixie  Land/  which  is  really  the  proper 
name  of  the  song,  was  written  by  Emmett  in  1859, 
while  he  was  a  member  of  the  celebrated  'Bryant's 
Minstrels/  which  then  held  forth  at  No.  472 
Broadway,  in  New  York  City.  His  engagement 
with  them  was  to  the  effect  that  he  should  hold 
himself  in  readiness  to  compose  for  them  a  new 
'walk-around'  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so,  and 
to  sing  the  same  at  the  close  of  their  performance. 


182    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  composition  of 
'Dixie'  are  interesting:  One  Saturday  night  after 
a  performance  Mr.  Emmett  left  the  hall  and  was 
proceeding  homeward  when  he  was  overtaken  by 
Jerry  Bryant  and  asked  to  make  a  'hooray'  and 
bring  it  to  the  rehearsal  Monday  morning.  Mr. 
Emmett  replied  that  it  was  a  short  time  in  which 
to  make  a  good  one,  but  that  he  would  do  his  best 
to  please  Mr.  Bryant.  He  composed  the  'walk- 
around'  next  day,  Sunday,  and  took  it  to  rehearsal 
Monday  morning,  music  and  words  complete.  The 
tune  and  words  of  'Dixie'  as  now  sung  are  Mr. 
Emmett's  exactly  as  he  then  wrote  them.  At  times 
different  aspirants  for  its  authorship  have  been  cut 
short  in  their  attempts  to  lay  claim  to  it  by  the 
timely  interference  of  friends  of  the  composer." 
The  following  is  the  full  text  of  the  original 
song,  as  written  by  Mr.  Emmett : 

I  wish  I  was  in  de  land  ob  cotton,  old  times  dar  are  not 
forgotten ; 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 
In  Dixie  land  whar   I  was  born  in,  early  on  one  frosty 
mornin', 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 

CHORUS. 

Den  I  wish  I  was  in  Dixie,  hooray!  hooray! 
In  Dixie  land  I'll  took  my  stand,  to  lib  and  die  in  Dixie. 
Away,  away,  away  down  south  in  Dixie! 
Away,  away,  away  down  south  in  Dixie! 


SONGS    OF    THE    SOUTH "DIXIE."  183 

Ole   missus   marry   "Will-de-weaber" ;    Willum   was   a   gay 

deceaber ; 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 
But  when  he  put  his  arm  around  her,  he  smiled  as  fierce  as 

a  forty-pounder; 
Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 

His  face  was  sharp  as  a  butcher's  cleaber,  but  dat  did  not 

seem  to  greab  her; 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 
Ole  missus  acted  de  foolish  part,  and  died  for  a  man  dat 

broke  her  heart; 
Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 

Now  here's  health  to  de  next  ole  missus,  an'  all  de  gals  dat 

want  to  kiss  us; 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 
But  if  you  want  to  drive  'way  sorrow,  come  an'  hear  dis 

song  to-morrow; 
Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 

Dar's  buckwheat  cakes  an'  Injun  batter,  makes  you  fat  or  a 

little  fatter; 

Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 
Den  hoe  it  down  an'  scratch  your  grabble,  to  Dixie's  land 

I'm  bound  to  trabble; 
Look  away,  look  away,  look  away,  Dixie  land! 

"Mr.  Emmett  has  had  numerous  applications 
from  many  eminent  people  all  over  the  country  for 
the  original  copy  as  a  curiosity,  one  of  them  com- 
ing from  Mrs.  General  Sherman. 

"From  the  time  it  was  first  sung  at  Bryant's 
hall  in  New  York,  it  became  a  favorite  all  over  the 


184    STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

United  States,  as  fast  as  minstrel  troupes  could 
bring  it  before  the  people.  It  is  interesting  to 
know  how  'Dixie'  became  the  Southern  war  song. 
A  spectacular  performance  was  being  given  in 
New  Orleans  late  in  the  fall  of  1860.  Each  part 
had  been  filled ;  all  that  was  lacking  was  a  national 
march  and  song  for  the  grand  chorus,  a  part  the 
leader  had  omitted  till  the  very  last  moment.  A 
great  many  marches  and  songs  were  tried,  but  none 
could  be  decided  upon.  'Dixie'  was  suggested  and 
tried,  and  all  were  so  enthusiastic  over  it  that  it 
was  at  once  adopted  and  given  in  the  performance. 
Immediately  it  was  taken  up  by  the  populace,  and 
sung  in  the  streets,  in  homes  and  concert  halls 
daily.  It  was  taken  to  the  battlefields  and  there 
established  as  the  Southern  Confederate  war  song. 
When  asked  what  suggested  the  words  and  tune  of 
'Dixie/  Mr.  Emmett  said  that  when  the  cold 
wintry  days  of  the  North  set  in,  all  minstrels  had 
a  great  desire  to  go  to  'Dixie's  land'  to  escape  the 
hardships  and  cold.  On  a  cold  day  a  common  say- 
ing was,  as  Mr.  Emmett  expresses  it,  'O !  I  wish  I 
was  in  Dixie's  land,'  and  with  this  as  a  key  he  con- 
cluded with  the  words  as  given  above.  The  tune 
of  'Dixie'  was  composed  in  much  the  same  way; 
one  bar  of  music  set  the  key  for  the  immortal 
'Dixie.'  " 


SONGS    OF    THE    SOUTH "DIXIE."  185 

The  pathetic  part  of  Mr.  Emmett's  life  is  thus 
told  by  Mr.  Bok: 

"Emmett,  as  I  have  said  at  the  beginning  of 
this  article,  is  now  nearly  eighty  years  old,  but  he 
is  a  'young  old  man/  whose  alertness  of  mind  im- 
presses one  as  that  of  a  younger  man.  Unfortun- 
ately for  him,  his  lot  in  life  is  not  a  pleasant  one. 
Unable  to  work,  he  derives  a  very  rude  subsist- 
ence. He  is  practically  forsaken,  as  well  as  poor. 
Eew  of  the  outside  world  know  that  he  is  alive; 
only  the  neighbors  know  that  he  is  the  man  who, 
through  one  of  his  songs,  moved  millions  of  hearts 
and  helped  to  fight  and  win  many  battles.  He  is 
a  prophet  in  his  own  country.  But  this  is  all. 
Thousands  who  know  the  words  of  his  famous 
song,  know  not  the  name  of  its  composer.  To  all 
intents  and  purposes,  he  is  forgotten.  And,  what 
is  sadder  still,  he  carries  the  hard  burdens  of  pov- 
erty. Practically,  his  only  present  return  for  his 
song  is  the  knowledge  of  the  service  it  rendered  in 
troublous  times.  Yet  it  seems  to  me  that  this 
man  ought  not  to  be  entirely  overlooked  by  the 
nation  which  he  served  so  well." 

It  was  not  long  after  the  New  Orleans  incident 
that  the  tune  of  "Dixie"  became  widespread  in  its 
popularity,  and  other  words  were  written  to  fit  the 
measure.  As  early  as  May  30th,  1861,  Albert 


186          STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Pike,  then  of  Arkansas  (born  in  Boston  in  1809), 
published  in  the  Natchez  Courier  a  song  which 
was  frequently  used  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  meritorious  of  all  the  words 
set  to  that  stirring  tune  : 

Southrons,  hear  your  country  call  you! 
Up,  lest  worse  than  death  befall  you! 

To  arms!     To  arms!     To  arms  in  Dixie! 
Lo!  all  the  beacon  fires  are  lighted — 
Let  all  hearts  be  now  united! 

To  arms!     To  arms!     To  arms  in  Dixie! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

Hurrah !     Hurrah ! 
For  Dixie's  land  we  take  our  stand, 
And  live  or  die  for  Dixie! 

To  arms!     To  arms! 
And  conquer  peace  for  Dixie! 

To  arms!     To  arms! 
And  conquer  peace  for  Dixie! 

Hear  the  Northern  thunders  mutter! 
Northern  flags  in  South  winds  flutter! 

To  arms! 

Send  them  back  your  fierce  defiance! 
Stamp  upon  the  accursed  alliance! 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

Fear  no  danger!     Shun  no  labor! 
Lift  up  rifle,  pike,  and  sabre! 

To  arms! 
Shoulder  pressing  close  to  shoulder, 


SONGS    OF    THE    SOUTH "DIXIE/*  187 

Let  the  odds  make  each  heart  bolder! 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

How  the  South's  great  heart  rejoices, 
At  your  cannon's  ringing  voices ! 

To  arms! 

For  faith  betrayed,  and  pledges  broken, 
Wrongs  inflicted,  insults  spoken, 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

Strong  as  lions,  swift  as  eagles, 

Back  to  their  kennels  hunt  these  beagles! 

To  arms! 

Cut  the  unequal  bonds  asunder! 
Let  them  hence  each  other  plunder! 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

Swear  upon  your  country's  altar 
Never  to  submit  or  falter! 

To  arms! 

Till  the  spoilers  are  defeated, 
Till  the  Lord's  work  is  completed. 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

Halt  not  till  our  Federation 

Secures  from  earth's  powers  its  station! 

To  arms! 

Then  at  peace,  and  crowned  with  glory, 
Hear  your  children  tell  the  story! 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 


188    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

If  the  loved  ones  weep  in  sadness, 
Victory  soon  will  bring  them  gladness. 

To  arms  i 

Exultant  pride  soon  vanish  sorrow; 
Smiles  chase  tears  away  to-morrow. 

To  arms! 
Advance  the  flag  of  Dixie! 

General  Pike  was  an  able  lawyer,  a  poet  of  ex- 
cellent repute,  a  philologist  of  no  mean  ability, 
and  at  one  time  was  the  highest  Masonic  dignitary 
in  the  United  States.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the 
Mexican  war,  and  became  a  brigadier  general  in 
the  war  between  the  states.  A  few  years  after  the 
surrender  he  removed  to  Washington,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  profession  of  law;  but  retired  in 
1880,  and  devoted  himself  to  literature.  He  pub- 
lished many  volumes,  including  his  poems,  law  re- 
ports, "Masonic  Statutes  and  Regulations,"  and 
"Morals  and  Dogma  of  Free  Masonry" ;  and  at  his 
death  in  Washington,  on  the  1st  of  April,  1891, 
he  left  eighteen  volumes  of  manuscript  without  a 
single  blemish  or  erasure. 

Another  song  set  to  the  tune  of  "Dixie,"  and 
which  became  very  popular  in  the  South,  appeared 
anonymously  in  the  Charleston  Mercury  almost 
simultaneously  with  General  Pike's  poem.  It  was 
called  "The  Star  of  the  West,"  and  ran  as  follows : 


SONGS  OF  THE  SOUTH "DIXIE/'  189 

I  wish  I  was  in  de  land  o'  cotton, 
Old  times  dar  ain't  not  forgotten — 

Look  away,  look  away,  lads  in  gray! 
In  Dixie  land  whar  I  was  born  in, 
Early  on  one  frosty  mornin' — 

Look  away,  look  away,  lads  in  gray! 

("Chorus — Den  I  wish  I  was  in  Dixie.) 

In  Dixie  land  dat  frosty  mornin', 

Jis  'bout  de  time  de  day  was  dawnin' — 

Look  away,  look  away,  lads  in  gray! 
De  signal  fire  from  de  East  bin  roarin', 
Rouse  up,  Dixie,  no  more  snorin' — 

Look  away,  look  away,  lads  in  gray! 

Dat  rocket  high  a-blazing  in  de  sky, 

Tis  de  sign  dat  de  snobbies  am  comin'  up  nigh — 

Look  away,  look  away,  lads  in  gray! 
Dey  been  braggin'  long,  if  we  dare  to  shoot  a  shot, 
Dey  comin'  up  strong  and  dey'll  send  us  all  to  pot. 

Fire  away,  fire  away,  lads  in  gray! 

Fanny  J.  Crosby,  the  blind  hymnist,  whose 
gospel  songs  are  popular  in  all  English-speaking 
countries,  wrote  words  to  the  music  of  "Dixie," 
which  began : 

"On!  ye  patriots,  to  the  battle! 

Hear  Fort  Moultrie's  cannon  rattle  j 
Then  away,  then  away,  then  away  to  the  fight ! " 

It  is  a  very  good  song,  but  never  was  adopted  by 
the  Union  army,  and  was  seldom  used  in  the  homes 
of  the  people  in  the  North. 

So  far  as  I  can  learn,  Mr.  Emmett  never 
clearly  interpreted  the  name  which  is  inseparably 


190    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

connected  with  his  famous  song.  What  did  he 
mean  by  the  word  "Dixie"  as  applied  to  the  South  ? 
Newspapers  have  attempted  to  supply  the  informa- 
tion, but  there  is  a  wide  disagreement  among  them. 
One  writer  in  the  Chicago  Times-Herald — M.  L. 
Rayne — says:  "Dixie  did  not  originate  in  the 
South,  as  is  popularly  believed,  but  was  in  use  in 
Northern  circuses  that  had  traveled  in  the  South 
and  enjoyed  Southern  warmth  and  hospitality. 
When  the  cold  winds  of  the  Northern  states  blew 
through  the  circus  tents  the  boys  would  shiver  and 
say,  'I  wish  I  was  in  Dixie/  Dixie  being  the  dimin- 
utive for  Dixon — south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line.77  The  readers  will  probably  remember  that 
Mason  and  Dixon7s  line  was  established  by  two 
Englishmen — Charles  Mason  and  Jeremiah  Dixon 
—in  1763-67.  They  were  commissioned  by  the 
British  government  to  survey  the  boundary  line 
between  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  which  was 
made  to  extend  westward  from  the  Delaware  river 
245  miles.  The  line  drawn  by  these  two  astron- 
omers and  surveyors  became  known  as  "Mason  and 
Dixon's  line,77  and  was  made  famous  in  the  history 
of  the  United  States  as  the  dividing  line  between 
the  free  and  the  slave  states.  Whether  Mr. 
Emmett  used  this  word  "Dixie77  in  that  sense  can 
be  only  conjectured. 


SONGS  OF  THE  SOUTH "DIXIE."  191 

An  article  in  the  New  York  Musical  Age  says 
that  Dixie  was  a  Long  Island  farmer,  and  at  his 
farm,  runaway  negroes  always  found  shelter  and 
kind  treatment.  Many  times  before  the  war  a 
wife  would  escape  to  this  blissful  place;  then,  in 
the  mysterious  way  known  only  to  negroes,  the 
whisper  would  run  from  mouth  to  mouth  that  she 
was  in  "Dixie  land,"  and  you  can  imagine  what 
the  song  was  to  that  husband  as  he  toiled  in  the 
lazy  sunshine  waiting  for  a  chance  to  join  her. 

The  Century  Cyclopedia  of  Names  states  that 
"Dixie  land"  is  said  to  have  been  originally  a 
negro  name  for  New  York  or  Manhattan  Island, 
and  later  applied  to  the  South.  The  phrase 
originated  in  New  York  very  early  in  the  century, 
and  when  it  developed  into  a  song,  or  rather  into 
many  songs,  the  refrain  usually  contained  the 
word  "Dixie,"  or  "Dixie  Land."  It  is  claimed, 
also,  that  the  name  first  came  into  use  when  Texas 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1845,  and  that  the 
Negroes  sang  of  it  as  "Dixie." 

In  Bryant's  "Songs  from  Dixie's  Land"  is  a 
note  to  the  effect  that  in  the  popular  mythology  of 
New  York  City,  Dixie  was  the  negro's  paradise  on 
earth  in  times  when  slavery  and  the  slave  trade 
were  flourishing  in  that  quarter.  Dixie  owned  a 
tract  of  land  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  also  a 


192    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

large  number  of  slaves;  and  the  slaves  increasing 
faster  than  the  land,  an  emigration  ensued  such  as 
has  taken  place  in  Virginia  and  other  states. 
Naturally,  the  Negroes  who  left  it  for  distant 
parts  looked  to  it  as  a  place  of  unalloyed  happi- 
ness, and  it  was  the  "old  Virginny"  of  the  Negroes 
of  that  day.  Hence  "Dixie"  became  synonymous 
with  an  ideal  locality  combining  ineffable  happi- 
ness and  every  imaginable  requisite  of  earthly 
beatitude. 

The  music  of  "Dixie"  is  so  pleasing  to  the 
people  that  it  has  become  almost  a  universal  tune 
without  words.  As  a  piece  of  national  music  it 
holds  a  place  close  to  "Yankee  Doodle."  It  may 
be  hardly  more  than  a  jig,  as  the  Confederate 
officer  called  it,  but  there  is  in  it  that  indefinable 
quality  that  made  it  alluring  from  the  commence- 
ment of  its  career.  And  in  the  war  with  Spain, 
in  far  off  Manila,  in  the  battles  around  Santiago, 
in  the  camps  in  Porto  Eico,  in  marches  by  land, 
in  travels  by  sea,  the  soldiers  were  cheered  by  the 
strains  of  "Dixie."  Its  beginning  was  in  the 
minstrel  show,  it  was  dedicated  as  a  battle  song  in 
the  great  uprising  of  the  South,  and  in  its  last 
estate  it  has  a  place  among  the  enduring  music  of 
the  Union. 


JAMES   R.   RANDALL. 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 

"MARYLAND,  MY  MARYLAND.  " 

AMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL  pro- 
nounced "Maryland,  My  Maryland/7 
the  finest  poem  (not  a  song)  which 
the  civil  war  produced.  Some  may  re- 
gard this  as  too  high  praise,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  it  is  one  of  the  most  refined  and  artistic  poeti- 
cal productions  of  the  war  between  the  states,  and 
has  given  lasting  fame  to  its  author — James  Ryder 
Eandall. 

Some  one  has  said  that  every  song  has  what 
may  be  called  a  personal  history,  or  if  the  expres- 
sion is  preferable,  a  secret  history.  Therefore, 
when  a  poet  has  written  a  war  lyric  which  has 
literary  finish,  and  qualities  that  make  it  live,  no 
matter  on  what  side  were  his  sympathies  in  that 
memorable  contest  which  displayed  the  supreme 
valor  of  the  American  soldier,  the  readers  of  the 
story  of  those  strange  times,  and  the  lovers  of  good 


194    STORIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

literature,  have  a  fervent  wish  to  know  something 
of  the  heart  experience  that  inspired  it. 

Mr.  Randall  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  first 
day  of  1839.  A  part  of  his  college  education  was 
received  at  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia.  A 
year  or  two  before  the  war  broke  out  he  went  to 
New  Orleans  and  became  a  contributor  to  The 
Daily  Delta.  He  afterwards  accepted  the  position 
of  professor  of  English  literature  in  a  small  col- 
lege at  Pointe  Coupee,  in  Louisiana,  about  one 
hundred  miles  above  New  Orleans.  He  was  at  the 
college  in  April,  1861,  when  he  read  in  The  Delta 
that  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  infantry  had  been 
attacked  while  marching  through  the  streets  of 
Baltimore  on  their  way  to  the  South.  I  will  now 
let  Mr.  Randall  tell  the  interesting  personal  his- 
tory of  his  song  as  comnyinicated  to  Mr.  Brander 
Matthews,  for  The  Century  Magazine: 

"This  account  excited  me  greatly;  I  had  long 
been  absent  from  my  native  city,  and  the  startling 
event  there  inflamed  my  mind.  That  night  I 
could  not  sleep,  for  my  nerves  were  all  unstrung, 
and  I  could  not  dismiss  what  I  had  read  in  the 
paper  from  my  mind.  About  midnight  I  rose,  lit 
a  candle,  and  went  to  my  desk.  Some  powerful 
spirit  appeared  to  possess  me,  and  almost  involun- 
tarily I  proceeded  to  write  the  song  of  'My  Mary- 


"MARYLAND,  MY  MARYLAND/'  195 

land/  I  remember  that  the  idea  appeared  first  to 
take  shape  as  music  in  the  brain — some  wild  air 
that  I  cannot  now  recall.  The  whole  poem  was 
dashed  off  rapidly  when  once  begun.  It  was  not 
composed  in  cold  blood,  but  under  what  may  be 
called  a  conflagration  of  the  senses,  if  not  an  in- 
spiration of  the  intellect.  I  was  stirred  to  a  desire 
for  some  way  of  linking  my  name  with  that  of  my 
native  state,  if  not  'with  my  Lord's  language/ 
But  I  never  expected  to  do  this  with  one  single, 
supreme  effort,  and  no  one  was  more  surprised 
than  I  was  at  the  widespread  and  instantaneous 
popularity  of  the  lyric  I  had  been  so  strangely 
stimulated  to  write.  The  next  morning  the  poem 
was  read  to  the  college  boys,  and  at  their  sugges- 
tion it  was  sent  to  The  Delta,  in  which  it  was  first 
printed,  and  from  which  it  was  copied  into  nearly 
every  Southern  journal.  I  did  not  concern  myself 
much  about  it;  but  very  soon,  from  all  parts  of 
the  country,  there  was  borne  to  me,  in  my  remote 
place  of  residence,  evidence  that  I  made  a  great 
hit,  and  that,  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  the 
Confederacy,  the  song  would  survive  it." 

The  following  is  the  poem  in  full : 
The  despot's  heel  is  on  thy  shore, 

Maryland ! 
His  touch  is  at  thy  temple  door, 

Maryland! 


196          STORIES  OF  GEEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Avenge  the  patriotic  gore 
That  flecked  the  streets  of  Baltimore, 
And  be  the  battle  queen  of  yore, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

Hark  to  thy  wandering  son's  appeal, 

Maryland ! 
My  mother  state!     To  thee  I  kneel, 

Maryland ! 

For  life  and  death,  for  woe  and  weal, 
Thy  peerless  chivalry  reveal, 
And  gird  thy  beauteous  limbs  with  steel, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

Thou  wilt  not  cower  in  the  dust, 

Maryland ! 
Thy  beaming  sword  shall  never  rust, 

Maryland ! 

Remember  Carroll's  sacred  trust, 
Remember  Howard's  warlike  thrust, 
And  all  thy  slumberers  with  the  just, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

Come,  for  thy  shield  is  bright  and  strong, 

Maryland ! 
Come,  for  thy  dalliance  does  thee  wrong, 

Maryland ! 

Come  to  thine  own  heroic  throng 
That  stalks  with  liberty  along, 
And  give  a  new  key  to  thy  song, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

I  see  the  blush  upon  thy  cheek, 

Maryland ! 
But  thou  wast  ever  bravely  meek, 

Maryland ! 


"MARYLAND,  MY  MARYLAND/'     197 

But,  lo,  there  surges  forth  a  shriek! 
From  hill  to  hill,  from  creek  to  creek, 
Potomac  calls  to  Chesapeake, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland ! 

Thou  wilt  not  yield  the  Vandal  toll, 

Maryland ! 
Thou  wilt  not  crook  to  his  control, 

Maryland ! 

Better  the  fire  upon  thee  roll, 
Better  the  blade,  the  shot,  the  bowl, 
Than  crucifixion  of  the  soul, 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

I  hear  the  distant  thunder  hum, 

Maryland ! 
The  old  line's  bugle,  fife  and  drum, 

Maryland ! 

She  is  not  dead  nor  deaf  nor  dumb — 
Huzza,  she  spurns  the  Northern  scum! 
She  breathes,  she  burns !     She'll  come,  she'll  come ! 
Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

When  a  great  lyric  has  been  born  in  such  a 
time  as  that  described  by  Mr.  Randall,  there  al- 
ways comes  a  desire  to  voice  it  in  song.  "Music  is 
the  universal  language  of  the  soul."  It  was  in  the 
following  June  that  a  glee  club  held  a  meeting  at 
the  Baltimore  home  of  Miss  Hetty  Gary,  who 
afterwards  became  the  wife  of  Professor  H.  New- 
ell Martin,  the  distinguished  biologist  and  author 
at  Johns  Hopkins  University.  Miss  Gary's  home 
was  the  gathering  place  of  many  Baltimore  sym- 
pathizers with  the  cause  of  the  South,  and  it  was 


108    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  ways  and  means 
of  assisting  the  Confederacy  that  the  club  held  the 
meeting  which  became  so  memorable  in  its  results. 
Miss  Gary  had  read  "Maryland,  My  Maryland," 
in  the  papers,  and  when  her  sister,  Miss  Jenny, 
who  had  charge  of  the  program,  searched  hope- 
lessly for  something  to  sing  which  would  encourage 
and  fire  the  Southern  heart,  Miss  Hetty  began  to 
recite  the  poem  in  a  tone  earnest  and  eloquent, 
when  her  sister  exclaimed,  "Lauriger  Horatius," 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  burning  words  had 
found  their  mate  and  that  night,  "Maryland,  My 
Maryland" — to  use  an  expression  of  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  the  Confederate  vice-president — became 
"the  Marseillaise  of  the  Confederacy."  "Lauriger 
Horatius"  is  said  to  be  a  German  composition,  and 
for  some  time  had  been  popular  as  a  college  tune. 
A  story  is  related  that  shortly  after  the  words 
of  the  song  were  inherently  wedded  to  the  music 
at  the  home  of  the  Carys,  in  Baltimore,  a  remark- 
able scene  occurred  at  Manassas,  the  famous  battle- 
field of  Bull  Kun.  While  visiting"  friends  in  the 
army  the  two  sisters  were  serenaded  by  the  now 
celebrated  Washington  artillery  of  New  Orleans. 
When  the  band  ceased  playing,  one  of  the  officers 
exclaimed,  "Let's  hear  a  woman's  voice."  Miss 
Jenny  Cary,  standing  in  the  front  door,  sang, 


"MARYLAND,  MY  MARYLAND."  199 

"My  Maryland."  The  refrain  was  speedily  taken 
up  by  hundreds  of  Southern  soldiers,  and  from 
that  moment  the  verses  grew  into  a  power.  It  was 
the  birth  of  the  song  in  the  army. 

Touching  the  Southern  heart  to  fervent 
enthusiasm,  "Maryland,  My  Maryland,"  was  to 
the  South  what  "John  Brown's  Body"  was  to  the 
North.  The  popularity  of  each  was  instantaneous 
and  intense.  .No  song  of  the  South  so  shared  the 
glory  of  "Dixie"  as  did  "Maryland,  My  Mary- 
land." Guards  who  patrolled  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, during  the  war,  have  said  that  in  many  a 
home,  supposed  to  be  neutral,  at  midnight  and 
with  suppressed  zeal,  they  heard  the  muffled  music 
of  the  song. 

Colonel  Eandall,  by  which  title  he  is  now 
known  among  the  Southern  people,  lives  at 
Augusta,  Ga.  Recently  he  visited  Savannah,  and 
was  serenaded  by  the  First  Maryland  regiment 
band,  and  I  cannot  close  the  story  of  "Maryland, 
My  Maryland,"  more  appropriately  than  by  quot- 
ing from  the  Savannah  Press,  of  the  9th  of 
January,  1899,  a  portion  of  a  personal  tribute  to 
him: 

"He  is  a  poet  who  has  no  living  equal  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  his  'Maryland,  My  Mary- 
land' stands  out  as  the  most  beautiful  war  lyric  of 


200    STOEIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

modern  times.  If  it  had  been  written  in  a 
Northern  state,  during  that  stirring  period, 
Colonel  Kandall  would  have  been  idolized  like 
Whittier  and  Lowell.  It  is  impossible  to  read  it 
even  now  in  the  cool  aftermath  of  the  civil  war 
without  feeling  the  fine  frenzy  which  stimulated 
poets  and  people  at  that  time.  James  R.  Randall 
is  a  man  of  lovable  character  and  of  loyal  traits. 
Maryland  should  make  him  a  'patron  saint.'  No 
one  ever  thinks  of  the  state  without  recalling  the 
poem,  and  Baltimore  lost  her  brightest  genius 
when  she  allowed  Eandall  to  wander  into  Georgia. 
If  Edgar  Poe  had  not  already  won  the  primacy  for 
Maryland  in  poesy  and  letters,  James  R.  Randall 
would  have  secured  it  for  that  state ;  for  Randall 
has  immortalized  the  name  of  Maryland.  The 
poem  was  written  in  Louisiana  and  published  in 
the  New  Orleans  Delta,  and  Randall  awoke  one 
morning  to  find  himself  famous.  The  stirring  Ger- 
man tune,  'Tannenbaum,'  was  chosen  as  the  fitting 
accompaniment  of  'Maryland.'  It  was  after  the 
battle  of  Manassas  that  some  Maryland  ladies 
visited  the  headquarters  of  General  Beauregard, 
and  sang  'Maryland,  My  Maryland.'  The  soldiers 
caught  up  the  refrain  and  the  whole  camp  rang 
with  the  soulful  melody.  From  that  time  'Mary- 
land' became  a  national  war  song  in  the  South." 


CHAPTEK  XX. 

THE  BONNIE  BLUE  FLAG. 


the  exciting  days  of  the  civil 
war  when  songs  played  an  important 
part  in  quickening  the  steps  of  the 
army  and  stimulating  courage,  the 
"Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  was  very  useful  in  the 
South,  but  to-day  it  is  hardly  more  than  a  re- 
membrance of  those  troublous  times.  James  R. 
Randall's  native  modesty  led  him  to  say  in  a  let- 
ter to  Mr.  Brander  Matthews,  quoted  in  The  Cen- 
tury Magazine,,  that  "Dixie"  and  the  "Bonnie 
Blue  Flag"  were  the  two  most  popular  songs  of 
the  Confederacy.  The  latter  did  have  a  large 
"run"  during  the  heat  of  the  conflict,  but  when 
the  war  ended  and  the  cause  of  the  South  was 
lost,  there  was  nothing  either  in  the  words  or  music 
of  the  song  to  make  it  a  worthy  memento  of  the 
fated  struggle  through  which  the  Southern  people 
had  patiently  and  intrepidly  passed. 


202    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  melody  of  the  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  is  of 
Irish  origin,  and  is  said  to  have  been  composed,  or 
rather  adapted,  by  Henry  McCarthy.  One 
authority  says  he  was  a  Scotch  actor,  while  another 
writes  of  him  as  an  Irish  comedian.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  air  is  purely  Irish,  as  it  is  very 
evident  that  it  was  taken  from  the  "Irish  Jaunting 
Car."  There  is  also  a  conflict  of  statement  as  to 
the  time  the  song  was  first  sung.  The  weight  of 
authority,  however,  renders  it  reasonably  safe  to 
say  that  it  was  first  given  to  the  public  at  the 
Variety  theater  in  New  Orleans,  during  the  latter 
part  of  1861.  The  "Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  became 
very  popular  throughout  the  South,  and  in  New 
Orleans  it  was  sung  so  frequently  and  with  such 
perplexing  enthusiasm  by  the  Southern  sympa- 
thizers, that  when  General  Butler  had  possession 
of  the  city  in  1862,  he  issued  an  order  which 
imposed  a  fine  of  twenty-five  dollars  upon  every 
man  or  woman  who  should  be  heard  singing  or 
playing  it.  In  addition  to  this  penalty,  all  the 
copies  of  the  song  that  could  be  found  were  des- 
troyed, and  publishers  were  prohibited  from  print- 
ing it  in  any  form.  That  the  readers  may  under- 
stand the  bright  spirit  and  swinging  movement  of 
the  song,  I  give  it  in  full : 


"THE  BONNIE  BLUE  FIAG/'  20B 

We  are  a  band  of  brothers  and  native  to  the  soil, 
Fighting  for  our  liberty  with  treasure,  blood  and  toil, 
And  when  our  rights  were  threatened  the  cry  rose  near  and 

far — 
Hurrah,  hurrah  for  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a 

Single  Star. 

CHORUS. 

Hurrah,  hurrah,  for  Southern  rights,  hurrah! 
Hurrah,  hurrah  for  the  Bonnie   Blue   Flag  that  bears   a 
Single  Star. 

First,  gallant  South  Carolina  nobly  made  the  stand; 

Then  came  Alabama,  who  took  her  by  the  hand; 

Next,  quickly,  Mississippi,  Georgia  and  Florida, 

All  raised  on  high  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a  Single 

Star. 

Ye  men  of  valor,  gather  round  the  Banner  of  the  Right, 
Texas  and  fair  Louisiana,  join  us  in  the  fight; 
Davis,  our  loved  president,  and  Stephens,  statesman  rare, 
Now  rally  round  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a  Single 

Star. 

And  here's  to  brave  Virginia!   the  Old  Dominion  State 
With  the  young  Confederacy  at  length  has  linked  her  fate; 
Impell'd  by  her  example,  now  other  states  prepare 
To  hoist  on  high  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a  Single 

Star. 

Then  cheer,  boys,  raise  the  joyous  shout, 
For  Arkansas  and  North  Carolina  now  have  both  gone  out; 
And  let  another  rousing  cheer  for  Tennessee  be  given, 
The  Single  Star  of  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  has  grown  to  be 

Eleven. 

Then  here's  to  our  Confederacy,  strong  we  are  and  brave, 
Like  patriots  of  old,  we'll  fight  our  heritage  to  save; 
And  rather  than  submit  to  shame,  to  die  we  would  prefer, 
So  cheer  for  the  Bonnie  Blue  Flag  that  bears  a  single  Star. 


204          STORIES  OF  GREAT?  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

The  general  opinion  is  that  Mr.  McCarthy 
wrote  the  words,  but  one  author  gives  the  author- 
ship to  Mrs.  Annie  Chambers-Ketchum,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  popular  poets  in  the  South  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war.  She  was  born  in 
Kentucky  in  1824.  Her  husband,  who  was  an 
officer  in  the  Confederate  army,  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  in  April,  1862, 
and  died  from  the  effects  thereof  the  following 
year.  She  wrote  many  poems  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  book  form,  and  is  also  the  author  of 
several  works  on  teaching,  and  has  made  many 
translations  from  the  Latin,  German  and  French. 
Mrs.  Ketchum,  who  is  now  living  in  ISTew  York 
City,  does  not  claim  the  authorship  of  the  song 
which  has  been  ascribed  to  her. 

A  prominent  Southern  writer,  himself  a  poet 
of  high  order,  writes  me  under  the  date  of  January 
31,  1899 :  "I  cannot  give  you  any  definite  state- 
ment about  the  words  of  the  'Bonnie  Blue  Flag.' 
I  suppose  Henry  McCarthy  is  as  much  entitled  to 
the  authorship  as  anybody.  As  a  bit  of  verse  it 
is  mere  drivel  and  trash.  I  do  not  know  of  any 
self-respecting  literary  person  who  would  father  or 
mother  it." 

The  government  at  Washington  has  done  a 
praiseworthy  work  in  procuring  for  the  new 


"THE  BONNIE  BLUE  FLAG."  205 

library  of  Congress,  a  collection  of  Confederate 
music — that  is  to  say,  music  printed  in  various 
parts  of  the  South  during  the  civil  war.  Some  of 
these  songs  are  reprints  from  music  preceding  the 
war.  "Her  Bright  Smile  Haunts  Me  Still," 
"Good-by,  Sweetheart,"  "Call  Me  Not  Back  From 
the  Echoless  Shore,"  and  many  of  Foster's 
melodies  are  among  the  collection.  There  is  the 
famous  pathetic  anthem,  "Lorena,"  which  had  a 
large  run  in  the  Confederacy.  "Maryland,  My 
Maryland,"  is  in  two  forms — one  lithographed 
handwriting  on  flimsy  paper,  and  the  other  some- 
what more  ambiguous,  printed  in  Augusta  and 
certified  to  as  being  the  "only  edition  that  has  the 
author's  approval" 

One  Confederate  anthem  has  for  a  frontispiece 
a  cavalier  holding  the  Southern  standard, 
inscribed,  "God  Save  the  South."  There  is  a 
ballad  of  the  times  called  "Pray,  Maiden,  Pray! 
Pray  for  the  Southern  Land  of  Streams  and  Sunlit 
Pines;"  a  song  of  "The  Southern  Soldier  Boy," 
to  the  tune  of  "The  Boy  with  the  Auburn  Hair ;" 
a  "Virginia  Marseillaise,"  calling  "Brothers  True 
to  Guard  on  the  Trenchant  Brand;"  a  Southern 
adaptation  of  "When  This  Cruel  War  is  Over," 
and,  likewise,  "Who  Will  Care  For  Mother  Now  ?" 
anthems  that  came  at  the  end  of  the  war,  indica- 


206    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

tive  of  the  impatience  of  both  sides  for  the  close  of 
the  strife.  There  is  also  a  "Farewell  Forever  to 
the  Star-Spangled  Banner/'  which  was  to  have 
been  supplanted  aby  thirteen  bright  stars  around 
the  palmetto  tree ;"  "The  Bonnie  Blue  Flag"  and 
"All  Quiet  Along  the  Potomac  To-night/7  attri- 
buted to  Lamar  Fontaine. 

These  are  all  entered  for  copyright  in  the 
"District  Court  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America/'  and  form  an  interesting  relic  of  the 
"lost  cause." 


HENRY    CAREY. 


CHAPTEE  XXL 

GKEAT  BRITAIN'S  NATIONAL  ANTHEM. 

NE  of  the  most  potent  national  an- 
thenis  in  existence  is  "God  Save  the 
King.77  It  seems  to  be  the  product 
of  no  man  and  of  no  time.  Its 
words  are  few  and  simple,  but  there  is  a  power 
in  them  that  not  many  national  songs  possess. 
Its  greatness  is  measured  by  its  influence  upon 
forty  millions  of  people,  by  the  love  of  country 
it  inspires,  and  by  its  universal  use  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  United  Kingdom. 

As  much  "history77  has  been  written  of  "God 
Save  the  King77  as  of  "Yankee  Doodle,77  but 
whether  anyone  has  ever  given  the  correct  story  of 
the  words  and  music  is  uncertain.  The  essential 
question,  "By  whom  were  they  written,  and 
when?77  has  never  been  satisfactorily  answered. 
It  would  seem  to  be  easier  to  trace  the  sources  of 
the  Nile  than  to  discover  the  true  history  of  the 


208          STORIES  OF  GKREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

British  national  anthem.  One  account  says  that 
the  music  originated  with  John  Bull,  a  noted 
musician,  organist  to  James  I.  in  1607,  and  after- 
wards organist  of  the  Cathedral  of  Antwerp,  where 
he  died  in  1628.  In  support  of  this  theory  it  is 
said  that  among  the  manuscript  volumes  of  com- 
positions, by  Dr.  Bull,  was  found  an  organ 
voluntary  identical  in  rhyme  with  "God  Save 
the  King,"  and  "bearing  considerable  resem- 
blance to  it  in  the  form  of  its  melody."  In 
an  old  Christmas  Carol,  printed  at  Aberdeen, 
in  1682,  are  found  phrases  very  much  like  the 
present  national  anthem  of  Great  Britain,  and 
therefore  the  claim  is  put  forth  that  the  music 
has  a  Scottish  origin.  There  is  also  a  story  that 
the  melody,  and  stanzas  of  similar  construction  to 
"God  Save  the  King,"  appeared  in  France,  in 
1686,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  was 
long  associated  with  the  vintages  of  old  France. 

The  commonly  accepted  history  of  the  words 
and  music  is  that  they  are  the  work  of  Henry 
Carey,  a  poet  and  musician,  who  was  born  about 
1685,  and  apparently  died  by  his  own  hand  in 
1743.  He  wrote  innumerable  songs  and  witty 
poems,  and  the  production  by  which  he  is  best 
known  is  "Sally  in  our  Alley."  But  imputing  to 
him  the  authorship  of  either  the  words  or  melody 


GREAT  BRITAIN'S  NATIONAL  ANTHEM.     209 

has  provoked  much  controversy;  but  nevertheless, 
it  is  asserted  by  some  historians  that  it  was  first 
performed  by  Carey  as  his  own  composition — 
words  and  music — at  a  public  banquet  in  London, 
in  1740,  to  celebrate  the  taking  of  Porto  Bello,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
by  Admiral  Vernon,  November  20,  1739.  The 
anthem  was  first  published  about  1742  or  1743, 
in  the  Harmonica  Anglicana,  and  in  the  Gentle- 
mans  Magazine  in  1745.  These  are  some  of  the 
points  set  forth  in  the  long  and  tiresome  discussion 
of  the  origin  of  the  song,  but  no  one  has  been  able 
to  clearly  establish  the  authenticity  of  any  one  of 
the  claims. 

In  Moore's  Cyclopedia  of  Music — a  work 
edited  with  painstaking  care — is  the  following 
brief  story  of  the  tune  which  has  such  a  hold  on  the 
world : 

"It  has  been  generally  believed  that  Henry 
Carey  was  the  author,  and  that  he  employed  Dr. 
Thornton,  of  Bath,  and  Christopher  Smith, 
Handel's  clerk,  to  correct  the  words  as  well  as  the 
music.  This  gave  rise  to  the  assertion  that 
Handel  was  the  composer.  The  words  with  the  air 
appeared  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  in  1745, 
when  the  landing  of  young  Stuart  called  forth 
expressions  of  loyalty  from  the  adherents  of  the 


210    STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

reigning  family.  After  Dr.  Arne  (composer  of 
the  popular  hymn  tune  'Arlington/  and  the  song 
'Bule  Britannia')  had  brought  it  on  the  stage,  it 
soon  became  very  popular.  Since  that  time  the 
harmony  of  the  song  has  been  much  improved,  but 
the  rhythm  is  the  same  as  originally.  There  is 
a  story  that  this  national  song  was  not  made  for 
King  George,  but  that  in  the  older  versions  it  ran 
'God  Save  Great  James,  our  King,'  and  that  it  was 
originally  written  and  set  to  music  for  the  Catholic 
chapel  of  James  II.,  and  no  one  durst  own  or  sing 
it  after  the  abdication  of  James,  fearing  to  incur 
the  penalty  of  treason,  so  that  the  song  lay  dormant 
sixty  years  before  it  was  revived  for  George  II. 
It  is  very  interesting  to  observe  how  this  song,  of 
which  the  words  have  no  great  merit,  has  become 
dear  to  the  whole  English  nation,  on  account  of  the 
associations  connected  with  it." 

William  T.  Stead,  that  great  lay  preacher  of 
political  and  social  righteousness,  and  editor  of 
the  London  Review  of  Reviews,  prints  in  his 
valuable  little  book,  "Hymns  that  have  Helped," 
a  story  of  the  origin  of  "God  Save  the  King." 
This  much  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  story — it  is 
interesting,  and  may  be  as  true  to  history  as  any- 
thing that  Bichard  Grant  White,  or  anyone  else, 
has  writen  on  the  anthem  that  has  been  the  hope 


GREAT  BRITAIN'S   NATIONAL  ANTHEM     211 

and  despair  of  many  writers.  Mr.  Stead  says: 
"It  is  one  of  the  ironies  of  history  that  the  first 
trace  that  can  be  discovered  of  the  singing  of  the 
English  national  anthem,  imploring  Divine  help 
for  the  reigning  monarchy,  was  an  occasion  when 
its  petitions  was  most  conspicuously  refused.  In 
1688,  when  William  of  Orange  was  busy  with  his 
preparations  in  aid  of  the  conspiracy  against  the 
Stuart  dynasty,  a  Latin  chorus  was  sung  in  the 
private  chapel  of  James  II.,  which  appears  to  have 
been  the  origin  of  the  famous  anthem.  But  before 
the  year  was  out,  it  was  King  James  who  was  sent 
packing,  and  William  of  Orange  reigned  in  his 
stead.  Then,  as  if  to  keep  up  the  irony,  the  song 
disappeared  altogether  until  the  Pretender  in 
1745  attempted,  by  the  aid  of  his  faithful  Scots,  to 
regain  the  crown  his  ancestors  lost.  Then  the 
self -same  musical  prayer,  first  used,  unavailing,  on 
behalf  of  James  II.,  was  revived  in  order  to  serve 
as- the  Battle  Hymn  of  the  usurper  who  sat  upon 
his  throne.  Twelve  days  after  the  proclamation  of 
the  Pretender  in  September,  1745,  at  Edinburgh, 
'God  Save  the  King'  was  sung  with  tremendous 
enthusiasm  at  Drury  Lane,  and  from  that  hour  to 
this  it  has  held  the  first  place  among  the  national 
anthems  of  the  world." 

There   is   a   wonderful   attractiveness   in   the 


212    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

simple  melody  to  which  "God  Save  the  King"  is 
sung.  Beethoven  introduced  it  in  his  "Battle 
Symphony/7  and  Weber  has  used  it  in  three  or 
four  of  his  compositions.  It  is  a  tune  striking 
enough  to  become  international.  It  is  popular  in 
France  and  Prussia,  and  Denmark  and  Sweden 
have  set  it  to  national  songs.  It  was  also  the  state 
melody  of  Russia  for  many  years  until  the  Czar 
Nicholas,  not  being  pleased  with  an  imported  air, 
concluded  that  his  people  should  sing  a  national 
hymn  from  Russian  heart  and  brain,  and  in  1833 
Lwoff  composed  the  tune  of  "God  Preserve  the 
Czar/7  which,  wedded  to  new  words,  is  the  best  of 
all  the  peculiar  national  anthems  of  that  country. 
The  melody  of  "God  Save  the  King/7  by  an 
accident  more  than  otherwise,  became  indissolubly 
linked  to  "My  Country,  7tis  of  Thee.77 

The  following  is  the  form  in  which  England7 s 
national  anthem  has  been  sung  since  the  beginning 
of  Victoria7s  reign,  the  "Queen77  changing  to 
"King77  at  the  accession  of  Edward  VII. 

God  save  our  gracious  Queen! 
Long  live  our  noble  Queen! 

God  save  the  Queen! 
Send  her  victorious, 
Happy  and  glorious, 
Long  to  reign  over  us, 

God  save  the  Queen! 


GREAT  BRITAIN'S  NATIONAL  ANTHEM.      213 

O  Lord,  our  God,  arise, 
Scatter  her  enemies, 

And  make  them  fall! 
Confound  their  politics, 
Frustrate  their  knavish  tricks, 
On  her  our  hopes  we  fix, 

0,  save  us  all! 

Thy  choicest  gifts  in  store 
On  her  be  pleased  to  pour, 

Long  may  she  reign! 
May  she  defend  our  laws, 
And  ever  give  us  cause, 
To  sing  with  heart  and  voice, 

God  save  the  Queen! 

The  song  has  found  its  way  into  some  hymnals 
in  England,  and  possibly  would  have  had  a  uni- 
versal welcome  in  British  hymn  books  had  it  not 
been  for  the  fourth  and  fifth  lines  in  the  second 
stanza,  which  are  not  only  rough  and  queer,  but 
intrinsically  ridiculous.  Many  have  wondered 
why  some  first-class  hymn-mender  has  not  taken 
the  matter  in  hand  and  made  a  stanza  equally  as 
fine  and  singable  as  the  first  and  the  last.  But  no 
one  has  been  inclined  to  disturb  the  sentiment  of 
a  national  anthem  which  has  been  such  a  power 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Mr.  Stead  says 
that  no  part  of  this  battle  hymn  of  the  British 
monarchy  is  more  genuine  and  hearty  than  the 
stanza  which  offends  many  pious  critics  on  account 


214    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

of  the  fidelity  with  which  it  reproduces  the  spirit 
of  the  imprecatory  Psalms  of  David. 

The  universality  of  the  anthem  is  a  prominent 
feature  of  its  history.  When  the  Columbian  Expo- 
sition was  being  held  in  Chicago,  in  1893,  a  num- 
ber of  representatives  thereto,  made  up  of  twenty- 
seven  diverse  nationalities,  and  speaking,  when  at 
home,  fifteen  different  languages,  passed  over  the 
Canadian  frontier  at  Gretna,  in  Manitoba,  on 
August  29th,  afor  the  purpose  of  heartily  cheering 
Queen  Victoria,  and  singing  'God  Save  the 
Queen.' '  There  is  no  other  national  hymn  in  the 
world  that  could  have  been  sung  so  effectively 
under  similar  circumstances. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  The  Youth's  Companion 
gave  an  account  of  a  dinner  given  a  Harvard  team 
by  an  English  team  in  England ;  and  the  Harvards 
were  requested  beforehand  to  sing  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner,"  and  their  English  hosts  were 
to  respond  with  "God  Save  the  Queen."  But  no 
Harvard  man,  and  none  of  their  friends,  knew 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  And  when  the  Eng- 
lish team  sang  the  song  of  which  every  English- 
man is  proud,  its  sentiment  was  as  heartfelt  as  the 
volume  of  sound  was  majestic. 

Better  than  anything  I  can  say  as  to  the  spirit 


GREAT  BRITAIN'S  NATIONAL  ANTHEM.       215 

and  purpose  of  "God  Save  the  King,"  are  a  few 
words  from  Mr.  Stead:  "The  singing  of  the  na- 
tional anthem,  and  the  way  it  was  sung  in  January, 
1896,  when  England,  left  in  'splendid'  but  danger- 
ous 'isolation/  was  preparing  for  war  against 
envious  rivals  in  Europe  and  America,  did  more 
than  anything  else  to  impress  the  foreign  observer 
with  the  intensity  and  depth  of  the  national  emo- 
tion. It  was  magnificent,  almost  awful,  to  hear 
the  swelling  notes  as  they  rose  from  great  congre- 
gations. For  more  than  a  hundred  years,  when- 
ever the  English  people  have  been  really  stirred  by 
imminence  of  national  danger,  or  by  exultation 
over  national  triumphs,  the  most  satisfying  expres- 
sion for  their  inmost  aspirations  has  been  found  in 
the  simple  but  vigorous  verse.  This  is  the  war 
song  of  the  modern  Englishman.  For  him  it  has 
superseded  all  others,  ancient  and  modern.  'Kule 
Britannia'  is  not  to  be  compared  with  it  for  uni- 
versality of  use,  or  for  satisfying  completeness  of 
verse  and  music. 

"Whenever  any  number  of  Englishmen  find 
themselves  fronting  death,  or  whenever  they  have 
experienced  any  great  deliverance,  whenever  they 
thrill  with  exultant  pride,  or  nerve  themselves  to 
offer  an  unyielding  front  to  adverse  fate,  they  have 
used  'God  Save  the  Queen/  or  King,  as  it  has  been, 


216          STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

and  will  be  again,  as  the  natural  national  musical 
vehicle  for  expressing  what  would  otherwise  find 
no  utterance.  It  is  the  melody  that  is  always 
heard  when  our  island  story  touches  sublime 
heights  or  sounds  the  profoundest  depths.  It  is 
one  of  the  living  links  which  bind  into  one  the 
past,  the  present,  and  future  of  the  English  race." 


"'-'     \ N 

ROUGET    DE    LISLE. 


CHAPTEK  XXII. 

THE  MARSEILLAISE. 

|RANCE  has  produced  some  of  the 
most  entrancing  patriotic  hymns  the 
world  has  ever  heard.  These  lyrics 
have  gone  to  the  hearts  of  the  people 
and  have  seemed  to  speak  to  millions  as  to  one 
man.  The  French  are  a  singing  nation,  and  they 
sing  as  they  fight,  and  we  are  told  that  "to  the 
sound  of  songs  monarchy  fell  to  pieces  in  France 
at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century." 

"Carillon  National"  was  a  song  revolutionary 
in  its  spirit,  and  was  the  favorite  air  of  Queen 
Marie  Antoinette.  But  she  lived  "to  hear  it  sung 
as  a  cry  of  rage  and  hatred  against  herself ;  it  pur- 
sued her  to  the  cell,  and  startled  her  on  her  way  to 
trial;  and  the  beautiful,  but  ill-fated  and  mis- 
guided queen  heard  its  harsh  strains  coming  from 
the  vast  multitude  in  inexpressible  insolence  as  she 
laid  her  head  under  the  guillotine."  The  supreme 


218          STOKIES  OF  GKEAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

tragedy  of  the  French  Revolution  was  inaugurated 
with  a  song  from  the  opera  of  "Richard  Coeur  de 
Lion" — Richard  the  Lion-Hearted — the  words  be- 
ing applied  to  the  despot,  Louis  XVI.,  and  the 
scenes  which  followed  are  among  the  bloodiest  in 
all  modern  history. 

Claude  Joseph  Rouget  de  Lisle  was  born  at 
Lons-le-Saulnier,  France,  in  1760.  He  became  a 
captain  of  engineers,  and  was  stationed  at  Stras- 
burg  in  1792.  War  had  been  declared  against  the 
Austrians,  and  the  fate  of  France  seemed  to 
tremble  as  if  in  a  balance.  The  mayor  of  Stras- 
burg  became  acquainted  with  De  Lisle,  and  on  the 
24th  of  April,  1792,  he  invited  the  young  engineer 
to  dine  with  him,  and  knowing  that  he  had  a  turn 
for  music  and  poetry,  asked  him  to  write  a  martial 
song  to  be  sung  on  the  departure  of  six  hundred 
volunteers  who  had  been  called  to  join  the  army 
of  the  Rhine,  and  which  would  also  rouse  a  higher 
spirit  of  patriotism  among  the  people  of  the  city, 
that  Strasburg  might  be  the  better  able  to  resist  an 
attack  by  the  Austrians.  Excited  by  the  dinner 
and  complimented  by  the  invitation,  De  Lisle,  who 
was  intensely  fiery  and  emotional,  produced,  be- 
fore daylight  the  following  morning,  what  Ulbach 
calls  "the  eternal  poem  of  the  great  apogee  of  the 
Revolution."  There  was  an  unconscious  con  June- 


THE  MARSEILLAISE. 


219 


tion  of  the  hour  and  the  man,  and  in  an  outburst 
of  patriotic  frenzy  the  immortal  national  song  of 
France  was  born : 

Ye  sons  of  freemen,  awake  to  glory, 

Hark,  hark,  what  myriads  bid  ye  rise, 
Your  children,  wives,  and  grandsires  hoary, 

Behold  their  tears  and  hear  their  cries! 
Shall  hateful  tyrants,  mischief  breeding, 

With  hireling  hosts,  a  ruffian  band, 
Affright  and  desolate  the  land, 

While  peace  and  liberty  lie  bleeding? 
To  arms!     To  arms,  ye  brave! 

Th'  avenging  sword  unsheath! 
March  on,  march  on,  all  hearts  resolved 
On  liberty  or  death. 

Now,  now  the  dangerous  storm  is  scowling 

Which  treacherous  kings,  confederate,  raise; 
The  dogs  of  war,  let  loose,  are  howling, 

And,  lo!  our  fields  and  cities  blaze. 
And  shall  we  basely  view  the  ruin, 

While  lawless  force,  with  guilty  stride, 
Spreads  desolation  far  and  wide, 

With  crimes  and  blood  his  hands  embruing? 

With  luxury  and  pride  surrounded, 

The  vile,  insatiate  despots  dare, 
Their  thirst  of  power  and  gold  unbounded, 

To  mete  and  vend  the  light  and  air; 
Like  beasts  of  burden  would  they  load  us, 

Like  gods  would  bid  their  slaves  adore; 
But  man  is  man,  and  who  is  more? 

Then,  shall  they  longer  lash  and  goad  us? 


220    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

O  Liberty!  can  man  resign  thee! 

Once  having  felt  thy  gen'rous  flame? 
Can  dungeon,  bolts,  and  bars  confine  thee, 

Or  whips  thy  noble  spirit  tame? 
Too  long  the  world  has  wept,  bewailing 

That  falsehood's  dagger  tyrants  wield; 
But  freedom  is  our  sword  and  shield, 

And  all  their  arts  are  unavailing. 

When  it  was  sung  in  the  public  square  the  next 
day  it  excited  so  much  enthusiasm  that  nine  hun- 
dred, instead  of  six  hundred,  volunteers  joined  the 
army  for  the  Rhine.  The  song  of  the  "Marseil- 
laise" was  startling.  "It  was  the  fire-water  of  the 
French  Revolution,"  and  evoked  fierce  passions 
and  terrible  deeds.  The  inflaming  accents  of  the 
song  drove  men  to  crimes  more  desperate  than  we 
can  comprehend  to-day.  In  "The  Story  of  a  Musi- 
cal Life,"  Dr.  George  F.  Eoot  says  that  when  he 
was  in  Paris  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1851,  he  and 
five  other  Americans  thought  they  would  celebrate 
the  day.  They  had  a  big  dinner,  and  speeches,  and 
songs.  They  sang  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner," 
and  "America" ;  and  finally  they  agreed  to  compli- 
ment the  French,  and  Dr.  Root  began  the  "Mar- 
seillaise," "Ye  sons  of  freedom,  wake  to  glory" ; 
but  he  had  not  gone  far,  when  the  lady  of  the  house 
rushed  into  the  room,  frantic  in  speech  and  wild 
in  demonstration,  commanding  them  to  stop  the 


THE  MARSEILLAISE.  221 

"Marseillaise,"  for  a  crowd  was  collecting,  and  her 
house  would  be  in  ruins.  And,  sure  enough,  the 
song  had  been  heard  upon  the  street,  and  a  vast 
throng  was  preparing  to  charge  upon  the  rooms 
from  which  had  come  the  blood-stirring  words  and 
tune.  An  old  soldier,  who  served  under  the  First 
Napoleon,  boarding  at  the  same  place,  went  down 
to  the  street  and  explained  the  good  intentions  of 
the  innocent  Americans,  and  after  much  persua- 
sion the  crowd  dispersed.  The  "Marseillaise"  had 
been  interdicted  for  many  years  by  the  French 
government  because  of  fear  respecting  its  effect 
upon  the  passions  of  that  inflammable  people. 

In  1830,  Heinrich  Heine,  the  most  prominent 
figure  in  German  literature  since  Goethe  and 
Schiller,  wrote  of  the  "Marseillaise:  "What  a 
song!  It  thrills  me  with  fiery  delight,  it  kindles 
within  me  the  glowing  star  of  enthusiasm  and  the 
swift  rocket  of  desire.  Swelling,  burning  torrents 
of  song  rush  from  the  heights  of  freedom  in 
streams  as  bold  as  those  with  which  the  Ganges 
leap  from  the  heights  of  the  Himalaya!  I  can 
write  no  more,  this  song  intoxicates  my  brain; 
louder  and  nearer  advances  the  powerful  chorus: 

'To  arms!     To  arms,  ye  brave!'" 

Rouget  de  Lisle  named  the  song  "The  War 


222    STOKIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

Song  of  the  Army  of  the  Khine."  But  in  a  few 
months  it  found  its  way  to  Marseilles,  and  to  other 
cities  in  France,  and  was  extensively  used  by  en- 
thusiastic revolutionists.  On  the  30th  of  July, 
1792,  it  was  first  sung  in  Paris  by  a  horde  of 
ruffians  from  Marseillaise — "five  hundred  strong, 
the  vilest  and  most  brutal  of  the  floating  popula- 
tion of  a  Mediterranean  seaport  town,  who  were 
summoned  to  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  and 
assisting  at  the  atrocities  of  1792."  The  Parisians 
called  it  "the  song  of  the  Marseilles,"  and  as  such 
it  became  the  official  hymn  of  the  republicans  of 
France. 

The  extraordinary  character  of  the  air  has 
given  it  a  more  eventful  career  than  any  other  song 
that  ever  was  born  of  a  call  to  battle.  It  has  been 
"the  signal  of  destruction,  the  warning  note  of 
revolution."  When  the  song  was  only  seven 
months  old — November,  1792 — the  republicans  of 
France,  under  Dumouriez,  fought  the  Austrians 
at  Jemappes,  in  Belgium.  At  the  most  perilous 
hour  in  that  great  battle,  Dumouriez,  finding  that 
his  right  wing  was  almost  without  officers,  and 
giving  way  before  the  fire  of  the  Austrian  infan- 
try, put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  began 
to  sing  the  "Marseillaise"  hymn.  The  soldiers 
joined  in  the  song,  their  courage  was  redoubled, 


THE  MARSEILLAISE.  223 

they  charged  the  enemy,  and  the  victory  placed 
Belgium  in  the  power  of  France. 

"During  the  Crimean  war  before  Sebastopol, 
a  body  of  French  troops  were  detached  to  storm 
the  Malakoff.  The  line  was  formed,  and  at  the 
signal  they  moved  to  the  charge.  The  Russians 
met  them  and  hurled  them  back.  Again  they  re- 
formed and  rushed  with  impetuous  daring  upon 
the  foe,  and  again  were  repulsed.  Seven  times 
they  advanced,  and  seven  times  the  thinned  and 
enfeebled  ranks  were  driven  before  the  Russians. 
They  rallied  the  eighth  time  and  called  for  the 
'Marseillaise.'  But  the  soldiers  refused  to  move 
until  the  music  sounded.  The  inspiring  strains 
rose  over  the  frightful  carnage  of  the  bloody  field ; 
the  men  shouted  for  the  onset,  and  madly  rushed 
through  blazing  showers  of  shot  and  shell.  Whole 
ranks  were  mowed  down;  their  places  were  filled 
from  the  rear,  and  louder  than  the  storm  of  battle, 
above  the  wild  outcry,  'March  on!  March  on!' 
rang  the  triumphant  and  immortal  song  of  France. 
The  men  leaped  the  trenches,  and  inspirited  by  the 
song,  which  dispelled  all  fear  and  inspired  the 
climax  of  courage,  they  plunged  into  the  furnace 
of  fire  and  death,  drove  the  Cossacks  from  their 
guns,  and  the  Malakoff  was  won." 

When  Rouget  de  Lisle  wrote  the   "Marseil- 


v  \ 


224          STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

laise,"  he  little  thought  to  what  base  use  it  would 
be  put,  or  what  would  be  his  own  fate.  He  was 
as  loyal  as  any  man  in  France,  but  being  suspected 
of  being  disloyal,  he  was  imprisoned  during  the 
Reign  of  Terror  in  Paris,  and  heard  his  song  above 
the  roar  of  battle  in  the  storming  of  the  Tuileries 
on  the  10th  of  August,  1792 ;  but  when  Robes- 
pierre fell,  De  Lisle  was  released.  He  would  have 
gone  to  the  guillotine  with  the  "Marseillaise"  ring- 
ing in  his  ears,  had  not  a  happy  circumstance  set 
him  free  before  his  fatal  turn  came.  Soon  after 
Rouget  de  Lisle  was  proscribed  as  a  Royalist,  he 
fled  from  France  and  took  refuge  in  the  Alps. 
And  Richard  Grant  White  says  "the  echoes  of  the 
chord  that  he  so  unwittingly  had  struck  pursued 
him  even  to  the  mountain  tops  of  Switerland." 
"What/7  he  said  to  a  peasant  guide,  "is  this  the 
song  I  hear — 

'Ye  sons  of  France,  awake  to  glory  ?' " 

And  it  was  upon  the  wilds  of  the  mountains, 
whither  he  had  been  driven  by  a  frenzy  which  he 
had  innocently  incited,  that  he  first  learned  that 
his  "War  Song  of  the  Rhine"  had  become  the  song 
of  the  Marseilles. 

Rouget  de  Lisle  was  wounded,  with  many  other 
Royalists,  at  Quiberon,  in  France,  in  1795,  and 


THE  MARSEILLAISE.  225 

after  quitting  the  army  he  was  reduced  to  sordid 
poverty  for  many  years ;  and  it  was  not  until  1830, 
six  years  before  his  death,  that  Louis  Philippe 
granted  him  a  pension. 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 

BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY. 

VAST  array  of  illustrations  of  bat- 
tle songs  in  history  is  found  in  Ger- 
many. In  the  story  of  war  lyrics  of 
that  country  we  meet  with  "flashing, 
sword-cut  songs  and  fierce  epics  which  read  like 
the  rush  of  a  torrent  of  blood  amid  the  groans 
of  the  dying,  formulating  battle  hymns  no  less 
dominant  than  they  were  among  the  Norse- 
men who  lived  to  sing  and  sang  to  die."  From 
the  fifteenth  century  to  the  present  day,  the  songs 
of  Germany  have  risen  with  almost  every  genera- 
tion in  fresh  swarms.  If  we  take  a  retrospect  of 
German  life,  we  will  find  the  people  of  that 
country,  most  prone,  perhaps  of  all  modern  races, 
to  outbursts  of  feeling  in  song.  A  Spaniard  or  a 
Frenchman  sings  as  if  he  could  not  help  it;  a 
German  sings  as  though  he  would  not  help  it  if 
he  could.  This  accounts  for  the  earnest  spirit 


Bl 


MAX   SCHNECKENBURGER. 


BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY.  227 

of  so  many  of  their  songs  of  the  Reformation, 
and  the  cultured  and  well-balanced  form  of  even 
their  rudest  soldier  songs.  The  consequence  has 
been  that  the  German-folk,  not  being  ashamed 
of  poetic  expressions  of  their  feelings,  have  done 
all  honor  to  their  poets,  and  have  sung  their  war 
songs  enthusiastically  and  in  triumphant  tones. 
The  agonies  of  Germany  in  the  Thirty  Years'  war 
and  other  conflicts,  produced  up  to  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  32,700  patriotic  and  Christian 
songs.  Such  an  unburdening  of  the  emotions  of 
the  heart  and  of  the  conflict  of  the  soul  in  song  can 
scarcely  find  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  any  other 
race  of  people. 

Germany  has  produced  some  war  ballads  which 
roused  the  masses  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excite- 
ment. In  the  uprising  of  the  German  nation  in 
1813,  Theodor  Koner,  born  in  1791,  encouraged 
his  comrades  in  the  army  by  writing  fiery,  pa- 
triotic songs.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  patriot, 
and  the  night  before  the  battle  near  Rosenburg, 
which  was  fought  on  the  26th  of  August,  1813, 
and  in  which  he  was  killed,  he  wrote  his  famous 
"Sword  Song,"  which  for  some  time  was  regarded 
as  the  "Marseillaise"  of  the  German  people. 

One  of  Germany's  most  powerful  battle  songs 
came  from  the  heart  of  Ernst  Moritz  Arndt,  who 


228    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

was  born  in  1769,  and  died  in  1860.  The  year 
1813  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  Germany's 
struggle  for  liberty.  The  country  had  been  in- 
volved in  the  war  by  Napoleon,  and  when  his  Rus- 
sian campaign  had  resulted  disastrously,  the  rem- 
nant of  his  once  great  army,  famished  and  frozen, 
"wandered  like  ghosts  across  the  snowfields  of 
Germany,  looking  for  shelter." 

During  those  trying  times,  faithful  preachers 
of  the  gospel  of  political  liberty  traveled  over  Ger- 
many, gave  the  people  patriotic  songs  to  sing,  en- 
couraging them  to  trust  in  God,  and  to  have  con- 
fidence in  a  free  and  united  Germany. 

When  Napoleon  had  fled  from  Russia,  making 
his  way  to  Paris,  two  men  could  be  seen  in  a  sleigh 
hurrying  toward  the  Russian  frontier  with  a  mes- 
sage of  hope  to  patriotic  Germans  in  the  field. 
They  were  Baron  Stein,  the  noted  constitutional 
authority,  and  the  poet  Arndt,  whose  songs  became 
as  powerful  as  the  sword.  It  was  during  this  win- 
ter's ride  that  Stein,  after  having  been  long 
absorbed  in  thought,  exclaimed:  "The  Prussian 
congress  must  be  convened;  the  volunteers  must 
be  called  out — Austria,  Saxony,  Westphalia,  Ba- 
varia, Wurtemberg,  Tyrol — and  so  the  rest  of  Ger- 
many must  follow  in  the  wake." 

Arndt,  also,  was  equal  to  the  occasion,   and 


BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY.  229 

shouted  in  response:  "Das  Ganze  Deutschland 
soil  es  sein — My  country  must  be  all  Germany. 
You  have  the  constitution,  but  I  have  the  song  of 
German  liberty."  And  that  enthusiasm  gave  birth 
to  the  magnificent  song  which  did  so  much  to  in- 
spire the  army  with  courage  and  to  win  the  battle 
that  made  Germany  free  and  united.  "What  is 
the  German  Fatherland  ?"  is  the  leading  line  in 
each  stanza.  "Is  it  Prussia,  is  it  Saxony,  is  it 
Bavaria !"  and  so  on,  to  which  each  stanza  answers 
"No,  no,  no,"  Poultney  Bigelow,  in  Harper  s 
Magazine,  says  that  "Arndt,  following  the  logic  of 
Stein,  on  that  frosty  sleigh  ride  amid  the  wreck 
of  Napoleonic  armies,  ends  his  song  with  the  im- 
mortal words — 'Das  Ganze  Deutschland  soil  es 
sein — My  country  must  be  all  Germany.' '  The 
power  of  that  song  in  the  mighty  struggle  of  Ger- 
many for  liberty  in  1813  can  never  be  fully 
measured. 

Stirring  times  in  Germany  gave  birth  to  a 
"Rhine  Song,"  written  byNicolaus  Becker  in  1840. 
In  the  sense  of  being  a  well-constructed  lyric,  it  was 
not  as  great  as  others  which  preceded  it,  but  hap- 
pily and  rhythmically  it  expressed  the  fixed  deter- 
mination of  the  German  heart  to  hold  the  Rhine 
against  the  power  of  France,  and  its  effect  was 


230       STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

something  marvelous.  It  is  claimed  that  it  was 
set  to  music  by  seventy  different  composers. 

The  chief  patriotic  song  of  Germany  is  "Watch 
on  the  Rhine,"  but  the  national  hymn  which 
"thrills  the  whole  German  empire  is  "Heil  Dir  im 
Siegerkranz" — "Hail  to  Thee  in  the  Conqueror's 
Wreath."  It  was  written  in  1790  as  a  song  for  the 
birthday  of  Christian  VII.  of  Denmark,  by  Hem- 
rich  Harries.  When  it  passed  into  Berlin  in  1793, 
it  was  recast  into  its  present  form  by  Balthasar 
Gerhard  Schumacher,  and  sung  to  the  tune  to 
which  we  sing  "My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee,"  and 
from  which  it  has  never  been  separated.  This  na- 
tional hymn  has  such  a  strong  hold  on  German 
affection  that  the  centenary  of  its  publication  was 
celebrated  with  demonstration  and  enthusiasm 
throughout  the  Empire  in  December,  1893. 

It  would  seem  that  Germany,  in  her  struggle 
with  France,  had  little  need  of  more  patriotic 
songs.  She  had  already  a  dozen  living,  moving, 
exciting  battle  hymns.  But  every  new  phase  of 
every  conflict  which  fired  the  German  heart  pro- 
duced a  new  song.  It  was  in  1840  that  Max 
Schneckenburger,  then  twenty-one  years  old,  wrote 
his  potent  and  wonderful  "Watch  on  the  Rhine." 
He  was  not  a  poet,  but  a  hustling,  every-day  busi- 
ness man ;  but  from  his  soul,  as  from  a  flint,  leaped 


BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY.  231 

the  spark  which  made  Germany  one  flame  of 
patriotism.  When  he  saw  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  threatened  by  France,  his  heart  was  more 
than  ever  warmed  with  a  love  of  home  and  coun- 
try, and  in  a  moment  of  great  emotion  he  sang,  as 
one  translation  gives  it : 

"The  Rhine  is  safe  while  German  hands, 
Can  draw  and  wield  the  battle-brands, 
While  strength  to  point  a  gun  remains, 
Or  life-blood  runs  in  German  veins." 

There  are  many  English  translations  of  the 
"Watch  on  the  Rhine,"  but  the  one  which  has  been 
most  highly  commended  is  found  in  Warner's 
Library  of  the  World's  Best  Literature,  and  is  as 
follows : 

A  voice  resounds  like  thunder  peal, 
}Mid  dashing  wave  and  clang  of  steel: 
"The  Rhine,  the  Rhine,  the  German  Rhine! 
Who  guards  to-day  my  stream  divine?" 

CHOBUS. 

Dear  Fatherland!  no  danger  thine, 

Dear  Fatherland!  no  danger  thine; 

Firm  stand  thy  sons  to  watch,  to  watch  the  Rhine, 

Firm  stand  thy  sons  to  watch,  to  watch  the  Rhine. 

They  stand  a  hundred  thousand  strong, 
Quick  to  avenge  their  country's  wrong; 
With  filial  love  their  bosoms  swell; 
They'll  guard  the  sacred  landmark  well. 


232    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 

While  flows  one  drop  of  German  blood, 
Or  sword  remains  to  guard  thy  flood, 
While  rifle  rests  in  patriot's  hand, 
No  foe  shall  tread  thy  sacred  strand! 

Our  oath  resounds,  the  river  flows, 

In  golden  light  our  banner  glows, 

Our  hearts  will  guard  thy  stream  divine, 

The  Rhine,  the  Rhine,  the  German  Rhine! 

The  power  of  this  song  was  so  great  that  it  was 
afterwards  seized  by  four  eminent  composers — F. 
Mendel  of  Berne,  in  1840;  Leopold  Schroter  of 
Warlitz,  in  1852 ;  F.  W.  Sering  of  Strasburg,  in 
1852 ;  and  last,  and  greatest  of  all,  Carl  Wilhelm 
of  Schmalkalden.  The  words  of  "Watch  on  the 
Khine"  were  first  sung  to  Wilhelm's  melody  on 
the  llth  of  June,  1854.  Schneckenburger  died  in 
1849,  long  before  his  song  became  famous,  as  it 
did  not  attain  widespread  popularity  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  It  then 
became  the  song  of  the  mightiest  army  of  modern 
Europe,  and,  in  fact,  the  paean  of  all  Germany; 
and  nothing  could  resist  the  song  of  the  Ehine  in 
the  defense  of  that  country  against  the  attacks  of 
France. 

Emperor  William,  recognizing  the  influence  of 
the  melody  of  "Watch  on  the  Khine"  on  the  Ger- 
man army,  gave  Wilhelm  a  pension  of  $750  a  year, 


BATTLE  HYMNS  OF  GERMANY.  233 

and  when  he  died,  two  years  later,  his  native  city 
erected  a  handsome  monument  to  his  memory. 

It  has  been  said  that  every  important  turn  in 
the  fortunes  of  war  in  Germany — "the  repulse  of 
Wallenstein  from  Straslund,  the  frightful  devasta- 
tion of  Magdeburg,  the  battle  of  Liitzen,  the  death 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus — each  memorable  action, 
whether  advance  or  retreat,  has  been  recorded  in 
song."  But  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  when  the  great  struggle  began 
for  the  union  of  all  that  was  "home-born  and 
Teutonic,"  that  Germany's  battle  songs  became 
"truly  splendid."  It  was  indeed  in  the  lyrics  of 
Korner,  Arndt,  Becker  and  Schneckenburger  that 
German  patriotism  reached  its  culmination.  These 
were  true  poets  of  the  soul,  and,  to  borrow  a  sen- 
tence from  Amelia  E.  Barr,  "their  products  have 
become  part  and  parcel  of  that  rich  inheritance 
of  song  that  so  nobly  interprets  the  intense  love 
of  freedom  and  unaffected  simplicity  of  the  Ger- 
man character." 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Anacreon  in  Heaven,  48,  49. 

America,  origin  of,  56 ;  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  on,  58 ; 
words  of,  60  ;  Edward  Ever- 
ett Hale  on,  61 ;  New  York 
Sun  on,  62 ;  Kansas  City 
Star  on,  65 ;  the  Pope,  re- 
quest for  copy  of,  65. 

a  Becket,  Thomas,  73,  74. 

Andrew,  John  A.,  86,  113. 

Antoinette,  Marie,  217. 

Arndt,  Ernst  Moritz,  227, 
228;  his  great  war  song, 
229,  233. 

B. 

Billings,  William,  33  ;  his  bat- 
tle hymn,  35 ;  Hezekiah 
Butterworth  on,  37. 

Beanes,  Dr.,  45. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  53. 

Brownell,  Henry  Howard,  82. 

Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,  story 
of,  93 ;  words  of,  95,  96 ; 
first  singing  of,  96 ;  sung  in 
the  Wilderness,  97;  103, 
104,  105,  106. 

Belfield,  Dr.  H.  H.,  relates  an 
incident,  98. 


Browne,  Richard  W.,  on  sing- 
ing army  songs,  100. 

Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic, 
82  ;  story  of,  108  ;  words  of, 
111,  112;  114,  117,  119. 

Biancolelli,  164. 

Bok,  Edward  W.,  writes  of 
Dixie,  180. 

Bonnie  Blue  Flag,  201 ;  how 
written,  202  ;  words  of,  203. 

Battle  Hymns  of  Germany, 
226. 

Becker,  Nicolaus,  his  Rhine 
song,  230,  233. 

Barr,  Amelia  E.,  233. 

C. 

Charles  I.,  16,  25. 
Cromwell,  24,  25. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  29. 
Carey,  Henry,  61,  208,  209. 
Columbia,    the    Gem    of    the 

Ocean,  72 ;  words  of,  75,  76. 
Chandler,   Lieut.,    incident   on 

John  Brown's  body,  85. 
Curtis,  W.  E.,  109. 
Collyer,  Robert,  111. 
Choate,  Joseph  H.,  124. 
Crosby,  Fanny  J.,  189. 
Confederate  Music,  205. 
Carillon  National,  217. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


D. 

Daghela  avanti  un  Passo,  13, 
14. 

Dawson,  Nancy,  air  of,  24. 

Dewey,  Admiral,  95. 

Dana,  Charles  A.,  on  the  influ- 
ence of  Root's  music,  103. 

Dixie,  story  of,  178 ;  words  of, 
182,  183 ;  how  taken  to  bat- 
tlefields, 184;  other  words 
to  Dixie,  188  ;  meaning  of, 
191 ;  Influence  of  the  air, 
192. 
72. 

E. 

Everett,  Edward,  87. 

Emmett,  Daniel  D.,  180  ;  how 
he  wrote  Dixie,  181. 
P. 

Fletcher,  Andrew,  9. 

Finck,  Henry  T.,  11. 

Fitz-Gerald,    S.    J.    Adair,    39, 

Fort  McHenry,  45,  49  ;  flag  of, 
49. 

Fort  Sumter,  raising  the  flag 
at,  53. 

Fields,  James  T.,  names  the 
Battle  Hymn  of  the  Repub- 
lic, 114. 

Field,  Dr.  Henry  M.,  131. 
G. 

Grisl,  Giulia,  12,  13. 

Grove's  Dictionary  of  Music, 
13. 

Greenleaf,  J.  E.,  81. 

Gibbons,  John  S.,  122,  124; 
how  he  wrote  Father  Abra- 
ham, 125  ;  death  of,  126. 

Gilmore,  Patrick  S.,  158,  159. 

Great  Britain's  National  An- 
them, 207 ;  its  singular  his- 
tory, 208,  209 ;  words  of, 
212,  213. 


H. 

Hood's  Song  of  the  Shirt,  15. 

Howe,  Julia  Ward,  20,  111, 
113,  162. 

Hastings,  Jonathan,  26. 

Hail  Columbia,  origin  of,  39; 
its  influence,  42. 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  41. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  58. 

Hall,  Charles  S.,  80. 

Habberton,  John,  on  John 
Brown's  Body,  90. 

Hall,  Florence  Howe,  112, 
117,  119. 

Halstead,  Murat,  118. 

Home,  Sweet  Home,  on  the 
banjo,  18 ;  164 ;  words  of, 
166 ;  interesting  army  inci- 
dent, 175. 

Harries,  Heinrich,  230. 

I. 

Ingersoll,  Robert  G.,  10. 


J. 

John  Brown's  Body,  the  story 
of,  77  ;  words  of,  81 ;  Rich- 
ard Henry  Dana,  Jr.,  on, 
78  ;  Sherman's  Army  sings, 
91. 

Just  Before  the  Battle, 
Mother,  129. 

Jemappes,  battle  of,  222. 

K. 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  45,  49. 
Keene,  Thomas  W.,  52. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  114. 
Kingdom  Coming,  137. 
Kittredge,    Walter,    154,    155, 

162. 
Korner,  Theodor,  227,  233. 


236    STORIES  OF  GREAT  NATIONAL  SONGS. 


Lind,  Jenny,  12,  13,  170. 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  24. 
Lick,  James,  50. 
Lumbard,    Jules    and    Frank, 

96,  106. 
Lincoln,     Abraham,     94,     95. 

121,  126,  179. 
Lowell,    James    Russell,    115, 

193. 

M. 

Music,  utility  of,  11. 

Musical  Age,  The,  18. 

My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee,  56 ; 

sung  in  foreign  lands,  63. 
Mozart,  57. 
Marshall,  Edward,  70. 
McKinley,  President,  95,  144. 
Matthews,    Brander,    56,    81, 

88,  102,  124,  126,  194,  201. 
Mills,  Luther  Laflin,  106. 
My  Grandfather's  Clock,   147. 
Marching     Through     Georgia, 

136;  words  of,  138;  Root's 

opinion  of,   139;    140,   141, 

143,   144. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  190. 
Maryland,  My  Maryland,  176 ; 

its  authorship,   193 ;   words 

of,    196,    197;    when    first 

sung,     198;     the     song     at 

Manassas,  198. 
Marseillaise,  The,  217;  words 

of,   219,   220;   sung  by  Dr. 

Root,    220;   great   influence 

of,  222,  223. 
Malakoff,     storming     of     the, 

223. 

N. 

Napoleon's  Old  Guard,  16. 
National    Song,    prize    offered 
for,  110. 


O. 

Outlook,  The,  on  singing  na- 
tional songs,  68. 

Old  Shady,  its  story,  149; 
words  of,  150. 

P. 

Porto  Rico  incident,  18. 

Proctor,  Edna  D.,  John 
Brown  words,  83. 

Preble,  Rear  Admiral,  73. 

Platt,  Thomas  C.,  116. 

Payne,  John  Howard,  165 ; 
how  he  wrote  Home,  Sweet 
Home,  165;  goes  to  Tunis, 
169;  his  troubles,  169;  a 
brilliant  scene,  170;  Jenny 
Lind  sings  his  song,  170 ; 
out  of  office,  170;  re-ap- 
pointed, 171 ;  his  re-inter- 
ment, at  Washington,  172. 

Pike,  Albert,  writes  words  to 
Dixie,  185. 


Ross,  Alexander  C.,  17. 

Ritter,  Dr.  Frederic,  on  music 
in  the  Revolution,  35,  36. 

Root,  George  F.,  95 ;  his  Story 
of  a  Musical  Life,  96;  he 
relates  a  pathetic  story, 
104;  the  influence  of  his 
songs,  105;  the  Coliseum 
war  song  festival,  106; 
Luther  Laflin  Mills  on  the 
power  of  Root's  war  songs, 
106;  127,  129,  135,  137, 
144,  162. 

Rayne,  M.  L.,  on  Dixie,  189. 

Randall,  James  Ryder,  193 ; 
how  he  wrote  My  Maryland, 
194 ;  a  personal  tribute, 
199,  201. 

Rouget  de  Lisle,  218,  223,  224. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


237 


S. 

Shackburg,  Dr.,  28. 

Star  Spangled  Banner,  origin 
of,  44;  words  of,  46,  47; 
sung  at  Metropolitan  Opera 
House,  54  ;  at  Santiago,  55. 

Smith,  John  Strafford,  48. 

Song  writers,  their  master- 
pieces, 57. 

Smith,  Samuel  F.,  60 ;  at  Chi- 
cago Board  of  Trade,  64 ; 
111. 

Shaw,  David  T.,  72. 

Sherman,  John,  a  good  story 
on,  109. 

Steffe,  William,  composer  of 
John  Brown  air,  84. 

Schley,  Admiral,  90,  95. 

Sherman,  General,  opinion  of 
Marching  Through  Georgia, 
141 ;  relates  an  amusing  in- 
cident, 141;  writes  of  Old 
Shady,  150. 

Song  of  a  Thousand  Years, 
144,  145. 

Songs  of  Cheer  and  Pathos, 
157. 

Sawyer,  Charles  C.,  159,  161 ; 
the  popularity  of  his  songs, 
161. 

Songs  of  the  South,  178. 

Stead,  William  T.,  writes  of 
God  Save  the  Queen,  210, 
215. 

Schneckenburger,  Max,  231, 
233. 

T. 

Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  Too,  17. 
Thurston,  John  M.,  117,  118. 
Thurston,  Mrs.  John  M.,  117, 
118. 


Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  127, 
128 ;  the  Charleston  scene, 
127. 

The  Vacant  Chair,  132;  how 
written,  133  ;  words  of,  134. 

Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp 
Ground,  153 ;  its  influence, 
154  ;  how  written,  155. 

W. 

Willard,  Frances  E.,  18. 

Watterson,  Henry,  his  tribute 
to  Star  Spangled  Banner, 
50. 

Woodbridge,  W.  C.,  59. 

Watkins,  Captain,  67. 

Webster,  Fletcher,  80;  his 
regiment  sings  John  Brown, 
87;  death  of,  87. 

We  Are  Coming,  Father  Abra- 
ham, origin  of,  121 ;  words 
of,  122,  123. 

Work,  Alanson,  136. 

Work,  Henry  C.,  137  ;  his  war 
songs,  143,  144,  145;  his 
misfortunes,  146 ;  writes 
My  Grandfather's  Clock, 
147  ;  his  death,  147  ;  162. 

When  Johnny  Comes  March- 
ing Home,  157. 

When  this  Cruel  War  is  Over, 
159. 

Who  Will  Care  for  Mother 
Now,  160,  161. 

Watch  on  the  Rhine,  230, 
231 ;  words  of,  232. 

Wilhelm,  Carl,  232. 

Y. 

Yankee  Doodle,  story  of,  23, 
24 ;  New  York  Sun  on,  26 ; 
Duyckinck  Cyclopaedia  on, 
26 ;  words  of,  30. 

Yankeee,  definition  of,  25. 


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